Kenyan officer dies fighting gangs in Haiti in MSS force’s first casualty

• A Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission meant to quell gang violence in Haiti has suffered its first casualty. Officials said a Kenyan police officer died on Sunday, Feb. 23, after being shot by a gang member during a security mission in the Artibonite region, which is just north of Port-au-Prince.
• Authorities said the officer was airlifted to the hospital, where he later died of his wounds.
• A spokesperson for the MSS said a “fallen hero” died “while fighting for the people of Haiti.”

Full Story

A Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission meant to quell gang violence in Haiti has suffered its first casualty. Officials said a Kenyan police officer died on Sunday, Feb. 23, after a gang member shot them during a security mission in a town north of Port-au-Prince.

What happened?

A spokesperson for the MSS said a “fallen hero” died “while fighting for the people of Haiti.” Authorities said the officer was airlifted to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

What has the reaction been?

Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said it was “heartbroken by the loss” of the officer and added that the MSS force would “pursue these gangs to the last man standing.”

Why does it matter?

The MSS mission has been impeded by a lack of manpower and there are talks of converting the United Nations-backed mission into a U.N. peacekeeping operation.

Currently, the mission is funded by voluntary contributions, and the lion’s share of donations have come from the United States.

The U.N. secretary general recently said he would unveil a hybrid peacekeeping plan to the U.N. Security Council to combat unrest within the island nation.

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What is the bigger picture?

Gangs have expanded control of Haiti’s capital this year and more than 5,500 people have been killed by gang-related violence since last year, with more than a million displaced.