Haiti: Kenyan police clash with gangs in Port-au-Prince

Kenyan police exchanged fire with gangs in Port-au-Prince on Thursday while establishing control of a building in an area of the capital controlled by the Viv Ansanm gang, led by Jimmy Chérizier, also known as Barbecue.

The building, which used to house offices of the Haitian National Police, was evacuated soon after Barbecue’s gang took control of the entire neighborhood of Delmas 2, three years ago.

Late November, Kenyan officers of the U.N.-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) regained control of the building but remain under constant fire from Viv Ansanm gang members who are encroached in Delmas 2, and only a few meters away from the home of the notorious gang leader, Chérizier.

When Kenyan police arrived in Haiti as part of a U.N.-backed mission earlier this year to tackle gang violence, hopes were high.

However, 400 Kenyan police officers and understaffed police departments lack funding and personnel, and gangs now control 85% of the capital.

The crisis has only deepened since the international policing contingent arrived. The main international airport closed for the second time this year after gangs opened fire on commercial flights in mid-November, striking a flight attendant.

Gunmen also are attacking once-peaceful communities to try and seize control of the entire capital, taking advantage of political infighting that led to the abrupt dismissal of the prime minister earlier this month.

Every day, as Kenyans patrol the streets of the capital in armored vehicles, they face attacks from various gangs in different areas city.

In a recent statement, the Kenyan-led mission said it was “cognizant of the road ahead that is fraught with challenges.”

But it noted that ongoing joint patrols and operations have secured certain communities and forced gangs to change the way they operate.

Godfrey Otunge, Kenyan Commander of the Multinational Security Support Mission said in an interview with The Associated Press that phase two of the operation would start before Christmas.

“The days of the gangs are numbered and we will go after them day and night,” Otunge said.

At least 150 people were reported killed in the capital and 20,000 forced to flee their homes in the second week of November alone.

Overall, more than 4,500 people were reported killed in Haiti so far this year, the U.N. said.