USA calls for rapid police intervention in Haiti after killing of missionaries | Police news

‘Haiti cannot wait,’ US official says, as Washington pushes for Kenyan-led mission to help country fight gang violence.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has called for the rapid deployment of a Kenyan-led security force to Haiti following the killing of three US missionaries in the violence-torn Caribbean country.

Friday’s appeal came shortly after the US nonprofit organization Missions in Haiti Inc. announced that three of its missionaries were shot dead by gunmen in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Thursday evening.

The deaths are the latest in months of escalating violence in Port-au-Prince, which remains largely under the control of powerful armed groups that have carried out a wave of deadly attacks across the city.

They also came as Kenyan President William Ruto concluded a visit to Washington, DC, where he met with Biden and other senior U.S. officials to discuss a range of issues, including the long-delayed deployment in Haiti.

“The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” a National Security Council spokesman said on Friday, adding that Biden had pledged in talks with Ruto on Thursday to support the “accelerated deployment” of the Kenyan-led force.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the families of those killed, who are feeling unimaginable grief,” the spokesman added, referring to the missionaries.

Missouri State Representative Ben Baker on Friday identified his daughter Natalie Lloyd and son-in-law Davy Lloyd as among those killed.

The couple had worked as full-time missionaries in the country and Davy Lloyd was the son of Missions in Haiti Inc. founders David and Alicia Lloyd, who founded the organization in 2000.

The identity of the third person killed was not disclosed.

The United Nations and other humanitarian organizations are calling for more support for Haiti’s citizens amid years of gang violence and political instability, which worsened after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

The latest wave of unrest, which began in February with gang attacks on police stations, prisons and other government facilities, forced Haiti’s unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.

A provisional presidential council has now been appointed to lead the country, but major concerns and uncertainties remain.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti warned earlier this month: “Hundreds of thousands of people, including many women and children, are victims of violence, and there are few signs of abating.”

By mid-March, more than 360,000 Haitians had fled across the country, according to the United Nations, and at least 1,500 people have been killed in gang violence since the beginning of the year.

While many civil society leaders and citizens of Haiti say the country’s decimated and ill-equipped police force needs help to restore security, the looming deployment of Kenyan-led foreign troops continues to raise questions.

Kenya has committed 1,000 police officers to the UN-backed, largely US-funded mission to combat the gangs, which is expected to eventually grow to 2,500 troops.

However, it remains unclear when the mission will begin, after officials said the launch could coincide with Kenyan President Ruto’s visit to the US.

Citing two anonymous sources, Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that there had been delays in the deployment.

Daniel Foote, a former U.S. special envoy to Haiti who has been critical of the Biden administration’s policies, also told Al Jazeera earlier this week that the mission’s mandate was unclear.

“Do they have the authority to make arrests? Are they going to go after the gangs aggressively or are they going to protect the infrastructure and not roam? Nobody knows,” Foote said Thursday after Biden and Ruto held a news conference at the White House.

Many Haitians also remain suspicious of outside intervention after previous foreign missions failed to bring stability or solve the country’s systemic problems.

Just recently, a UN peacekeeping force in Haiti was linked to a deadly cholera outbreak and allegations of sexual abuse.

When asked about the new police deployment in Haiti, Ruto said during Thursday’s press conference that Kenya believes that “the responsibility for peace and security everywhere in the world, including in Haiti, is the responsibility of all nations.”

The Kenyan president promised that the operation would “break the neck” of the gangs in the country.