The brutal, religiously motivated massacre has been widely condemned as Haitians intensify calls for a return to democratic order and peace.

At least 70 people were killed (most of them shot in the head) and almost twenty people were injured (including two gang members who were wounded after an armed confrontation with the police). Among the victims are three infants and 10 women.

Kenyan police officers were deployed to Haiti as part of a UN-mandated mission to try to combat gang violence and restore security.

The Kenyan officers arrived to Port-au-Prince to establish the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support Mission to fight against gang violence in Haiti

The government of president William Ruto has suspended the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers as part of a US-backed mission to Haiti. The news followed a day after Haiti’s de facto PM, Ariel Henry, announced his resignation to pave the way for the appointment of a “Transitional Presidential Council” amid rising insecurity in the country.

The resignation of Henry comes amid an upsurge in violence between security forces and paramilitary groups, and was a long standing demand of movements in the country

Despite the prohibition by Kenya’s High Court, President William Ruto has vowed to deploy policemen within this week to Haiti. Communist Party of Kenya leader Booker Omole says Ruto is selling the country’s foreign policy to the highest bidder, namely the US

The high court in Nairobi will issue a ruling on a legal challenge to the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police forces to Haiti as part of a “multinational force.” The US and UN-backed mission has been condemned as yet another attempt to undermine the sovereignty of the Haitian people. 

Haitian scholar Camille Chalmers rejects yet another international intervention and says Haiti’s issues have deeper roots which much be addressed

A UN Security Council vote authorized the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti, a move seen by some Kenyans as a violation of sovereignty and part of the United States’ neo-colonial agenda.

The multinational security force will collaborate with Haitian National Police to conduct “targeted operations” to allegedly combat gang violence

Kenya has stated that it will lead a potential security intervention in Haiti backed by the US and the UN. The move has been condemned by progressive forces as yet another attack on the sovereignty of Haiti in service of imperialist interests while plunging the country further into insecurity