Kenyan police, working as part of the UN mission to ensure security in Haiti, engaged in a shootout with the Haitian gang, the Kenyan publication Nation reported on July 29.
Working closely with Haitian National Police officers, they clashed Saturday night with members of the 400 Mawazo gang as they tried to liberate part of the town of Gautier, near the border with the Dominican Republic.
According to a report published by the United Nations in early 2024, Haitian gangs used the Dominican Republic to purchase weapons.
It was this route of delivery of arsenal that Kenyan officers of the UN-supported Multinational Security System Support Mission attempted to block.
The town of Gautier is under the control of the 400-member Mavazo gang, one of Haiti’s largest criminal groups, based mainly in Gantiers, Tabarra and Pétionville.
It is made up mainly of deportees, former leaders of opposition groups, former smugglers and police officers who act as its fighters.
The firefight continued for several hours and one of the US-provided armored personnel carriers for the mission was hit by a firebomb.
This is the second mission in which Kenyan officers in Haiti have been forced to use their weapons against gangs, the first being on July 17, 2024, when they recaptured the national port Autorite Portuaire.
A total of 396 police officers have been deployed to Haiti so far, and Kenya is expected to send 600 more.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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