MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2023) The Bahamas will send 150 servicepeople to support the multinational force in Haiti if approved by the UN Security Council, the Bahamian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
In early July, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged countries to send multinational forces to assist the Haitian police in the fight against criminal groups. Last week, Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said that if the United Nations issues a mandate, Kenya will deploy 1,000 police officers in Haiti to train and assist the Haitian law enforcement agencies in normalizing the situation in the country and protecting strategic installations.
"The Bahamian Government welcomes the Government of Kenya's decision to answer the Haitian Government's request for security support with a commitment of 1,000 police officers to lead a multinational force. For our part, The Bahamas has committed 150 persons to support the multi-national force once authorized by the United Nations Security Council. We now urge the passing of a UN Security Council Resolution in support of this force," the ministry said.
Haiti has long been mired in a socio-political crisis that escalated after the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moise on July 7, 2021. The country faced an unprecedented increase in the activities of criminal groups, while the humanitarian situation has been further deteriorating due to natural disasters such as severe floods, torrential rains and earthquakes.
The International Organization for Migration estimated in early June that over 165,000 people had been internally displaced in Haiti in the first three months of 2023 due to gang violence, murders and kidnappings as well as a dire humanitarian situation.
