Kenyan police have begun patrolling Port-au-Prince, as Haiti's Prime Minister Garry Conille announced new emergency measures to combat the country's gang wars.
Armoured vehicles reportedly patrolled the area around the National Palace and other parts of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday with Kenyan forces and Haitian police on board.
Several loud bangs were heard as the vehicles passed by, although it remains unclear if they were shots fired by police or the armed gangs who control some 80 percent of the capital.
Prime Minister Gary Conille briefly spoke to the nation the same day, announcing that the authorities had declared a state of security emergency in 14 communes that are "under the control of gangs".
This "will allow the government to have the necessary tools and instruments to act, confront the bandits and restore the authority of the state", he said.
Shortly before the premier's announcement, a government source told French news agency AFP that the communes in question were located in the country's west and centre.
Conille said that he had authorised "the national police, the Haitian army and the Kenyan force to launch operations in the affected areas, based on the plans we have established".
"The final objective is to take back all the areas that are controlled by the gangs, house by house, neighbourhood by neighbourhood and city by city."
International security mission
Kenya stepped up to lead the long-sought international force last year to help Haiti tackle its soaring insecurity.
The UN-backed mission – with an initial duration of one year – will total 2,500 personnel from countries that also include Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, the Bahamas and Barbados.
Kenya has now sent around 400 personnel to Haiti – 200 on 25 June and 200 on Tuesday – with promises of another 600 in the coming weeks.
The United States has ruled out sending forces, but is contributing funding and logistical support to the mission.
Haiti has long been wracked by gang violence, but conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then prime minister Ariel Henry.
The violence in the Haitian capital has affected food security and humanitarian aid access, with much of the city in the hands of gangs accused of abuses including murder, rape, looting and kidnappings.
(with AFP)
