The Canadian Ministry of Defense has deployed approximately 70 soldiers to Jamaica to train troops from Caribbean countries participating in a UN-sanctioned mission in Haiti, according to Reuters.
Kenya announced last year that it would lead forces to assist the national police in combating powerful gangs in Haiti, where escalating violence has led to a humanitarian crisis.
Canadian troops from the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec will conduct training in basic peacekeeping skills and first aid. French is one of Haiti's two official languages.
The troops are expected to remain in Jamaica for an initial period of 30 days and will train approximately 330 military personnel from Jamaica, Belize, and the Bahamas. Last month, Canada announced that it would provide 80.5 million Canadian dollars to support the deployment of the mission led by Kenya.
What preceded this
The unrest in Haiti began at the end of February after Haiti's acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry flew to Kenya to finalize the deployment of a foreign contingent to combat gangs. The gangs declared war on the prime minister, paralyzing the capital and demanding Henry's resignation.
According to media reports, the gangs control most of the capital and transport links in the rest of the country. On March 4, a state of emergency was declared in the country, and a curfew was imposed in the capital after the gangs seized two prisons and freed about 4,000 inmates, including those involved in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
Soon after, the gangs in Haiti united and launched a series of attacks on government buildings, police stations, the Ministry of Justice building, and the presidential palace in the capital. About a dozen attackers were killed in the fighting.
For more information on the situation in the country, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
