PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
Haiti's government said Sunday
it remains hopeful for a "swift and positive outcome," after a Kenyan
court ruled against Nairobi's plan to deploy police officers to support the
troubled island nation's security forces.Haitian police arrest a man in the Turgeau commune of Port-au-Prince during gang-related violence in April 2023
The ruling on Friday has
thrown into doubt the future of a U.N.-backed multinational force long sought
by Haiti's government, which has pleaded for international help to confront its
spiraling security crisis.
ALSO READ: Court bars Kenya police deployment to Haiti
Kenya's government had
previously said it was ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel, an offer
welcomed by the United States and other nations that had ruled out putting
their own forces on the ground.
The government of Haiti said
in a statement Sunday that it was "following developments in Kenya and
expects a swift and positive outcome."
It added that it would
"like to thank the many countries that have come forward to offer various
types of aid to restore order and security as soon as possible."
The Kenyan government has
vowed to challenge the high court ruling.
Kenyan President William Ruto
has described his country's undertaking as a "mission for humanity,"
in step with its long record of contributing to peacekeeping missions abroad.
The Western hemisphere's
poorest nation, Haiti has been in turmoil for years, with armed gangs taking
over parts of the country and unleashing brutal violence, leaving the economy
and public health system in tatters.
The 2021 assassination of
President Jovenel Moise plunged the country further into chaos. No elections
have taken place since 2016 and the presidency remains vacant.
The multinational mission —
initially approved for one year — had envisioned Kenyan police on the offensive
with their Haitian counterparts, who are outnumbered and outgunned by gang
members.
The U.N. Security Council
approved the mission in early October.
In the statement, Haiti urged
its citizens "to remain calm, to support our security forces and not to
allow themselves to be intimidated by disinformation campaigns and threats of
violence."
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