United Nations Police Adviser and Director of Police Division, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, UN Headquarters New York, Faisal Shahkar has approved turning the Kenya police-led mission in Haiti into a UN mission.

The US has asked the UN Security Council to transform the mission into a UN peacekeeping operation, which would guarantee funding through members’ assessed contributions and allow the force to expand and get the needed equipment.

The announcement came almost the same time the Kenya police in Haiti staged a security operation in a slum in Port-au-Prince on Monday which led to recovery of a high-calibre weapon and killing of gang members.

Officials said the gang members had planned an attack on Kenscoff area, with the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission (MSS) Force Commander Godfrey Otunge, saying distress calls from residents of Kenscoff reporting imminent gang attacks prompted a swift response from the team.

“Several gang members were arrested while others were fatally injured. A high-caliber firearm along with a communication radio were recovered during the operation,” he said.

Otunge said the mission was entering a critical and decisive phase, requiring contributions and support from all stakeholders. He also issued a stern warning to key gang leaders, stating that their days were numbered.

The MSS and the Haitian National Police (PNH) have conducted multiple joint security operations to dismantle gangs in areas like Thomassin which have led to the arrest of several gang members, with some sustaining fatal injuries during confrontations.

The MSS Mission, headquartered in Port-au-Prince, is an international operation led by Kenya and authorised by the United Nations Security Council to assist the Haiti National Police in restoring peace, law and order amid threats of criminal gangs and violence.

There are now 617 Kenya police officers in Haiti, together with police and military officers from Jamaica, along with soldiers from The Bahamas, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Their presence takes the number of foreign security personnel to under 800.

Last year, Haiti saw a record number of neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas fall to armed gangs, despite the presence of foreign forces and a new US-backed transition government.

As the gangs took over neighbourhoods and carried out some of the worst massacres in recent memory, they also deepened the country’s humanitarian crisis as tens of thousands more Haitians were forced to flee their homes.

The United Nations said more than 5,600 people were killed by gang violence last year, an increase over the previous two years, and over 1 million Haitians are now displaced.

Shakhar spent the better part of last week in Nairobi and met senior officials. He visited various training camps where the police being sent to Haiti are trained.

Shahkar met Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Singoei among others.

Kanja said their discussions focused on bilateral engagements, support for Pre- Deployment Training for National Police Service, and opportunities for Formed Police Units training and deployment preparations.

Shahkar commended Kenya for being a major Police Contributing Country to peacekeeping missions and Peace Support Operations.

Kanja appreciated the UN for their support to Kenyan peacekeepers.