Kenya now has a total of 617 officers operating in the Caribean nation under the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).

More than 200 Kenyan police officers have been sent to Haiti to assist an understaffed security mission. President William Ruto has pledged to send 1,000 troops to Haiti in support of the United Nations.

General Service Unit and Border police from Kenya stand in formation as they wait for the arrival of the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, near the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 22, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool/AFP/Getty Images via TNS)

They are being deployed to the Caribbean country to provide back-up to an understaffed international security mission.

Kenya has deployed 217 more police officers to Haiti to provide backup to an understaffed security mission in the Caribbean country where spiralling gang violence has displaced more than a million people,

Kenyan President William Ruto said the plan is eventually to send 2,500 police officers to Haiti under the UN-backed mission.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya has deployed 217 more police officers to Haiti as part of a multinational force to curb gang violence plaguing the Caribbean nation, Kenya's interior minister said on Saturday. According to the minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, the police officers departed from Kenya on Friday.

Kenya had initially pledged to deploy 1,000 police officers to Haiti. With the first 400 already making strides, President William Ruto reiterated the country's commitment by promising to send the remaining 600 officers in phases.