(Reuters) – A Kenyan police officer was killed on Sunday in Haiti, marking the first casualty since the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission arrived in the Caribbean nation in June 2024, mission authorities confirmed.
In a statement, the mission reported that the officer was injured during an operation in the Artibonite department and was airlifted to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Jack Ombaka, the mission’s spokesperson, told Reuters that this was the first fatality the force has suffered since its deployment as part of the United Nations-backed effort to combat gang violence, which has displaced over a million people in Haiti.
“The officer was killed during a confrontation with gang members,” Ombaka stated.
In an official statement, the mission honored the fallen officer: “We salute our fallen hero. We will pursue these gangs to the last man standing. We will not let you down.”
The officer’s death comes amid a surge in gang-related violence in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince over the past week.
