An advance team of soldiers from Chad arrived in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, marking a significant step in international efforts to help Haiti confront powerful criminal gangs. The soldiers, part of a newly formed U.S.-backed Gang Suppression Force, were accompanied by Jack Christofides, the mission’s special representative. The force was authorized by the United Nations Security Council and deployed at the request of the Haitian government. Their arrival comes as Haitian security forces continue to struggle to contain the violence, even as they see some gains in recent months, including pushing into gang strongholds in the capital while reopening some roads. In central Haiti violence has been surging in recent days. Thousands of residents have come under attack by the Gran Grif gang, which the U.S. State Department has designated a terrorist organization. Estimates of the death toll range as high as 80. The attacks have shattered months of relative calm in the region and underscored the challenges facing the new anti-gang force, whose primary mission is to restore enough stability to allow Haiti to hold its first general elections in a decade. Ahead of the deployment, Atul Khare, the United Nations undersecretary general for operational support, traveled this week to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Khare and Daniela Kroslak, head of the U.N. Support Office in Haiti, met with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and Foreign Minister Raina Forbin.
On Wednesday, the U.N. Support Office in Haiti said it had met its deadline to provide full logistical and operational support to the force, in line with the Security Council resolution. The mission is supposed to have 5,500 personnel, mostly military, and 50 civilians. Unlike its predecessor, the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission, the force is more lethal, and will be empowered to operate separately from the Haiti national police and will be able to arrest gang members. “The U.N. Support Office in Haiti is now prepared to provide living and office accommodation, medical support and other key services to the Gang Suppression Force,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres. “The Support Office has deployed two helicopters, which will provide the necessary mobility between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic,” he added. “A small office has also been established in Santo Domingo to provide back-office support to both our U.N. entities in Haiti.” In a note the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince welcomed Christofides and Kroslak. The embassy also said they were pleased to see the arrival of the GSF forces, which will be conducting targeted intelligence-led operations against armed gangs, secure critical infrastructure and key roads, and protect civilians. The forces are expected to deploy between April and October from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. “The GSF, with support from [the U.N. Support Office in Haiti] will strengthen efforts to combat terrorist gangs and help bring security and stability to the Haitian people,” the U.S. embassy said.
