Haiti - FLASH : The United States and Kenya sign a defense agreement before possible deployment in Haiti 26/09/2023 09:18:56
On Monday September 25, 2023, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Kenyan Defense Minister Aden Duale signed an agreement in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The deal will allow Kenya to secure resources and support for security deployments as it prepares to lead a multinational mission to Haiti to combat gang violence.
The agreement guides the two countries' defense relations for the next five years as the war in East Africa against the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabab intensifies.
Austin thanked Kenya for volunteering to lead the multinational force in Haiti and reiterated that the U.S. Government would work with Congress to secure the $100 million in funding it has committed, in teh sideline of the United Nations General Assembly.
Austin said the rest of the world should follow Kenya's commitment to global security and "step up and provide more personnel, equipment, support, training and funding."
Let's recall that Kenya has committed to sending 1,000 men to Haiti to fight against gangs as part of a mission which is awaiting formal approval from the UN Security Council but which has received support from the UN and the United States.
Some security analysts have expressed concerns that a language barrier exists between the deployment of Kenya, an English- and Swahili-speaking country, and the population of Haiti, where the official languages are French and Creole.
