UN Security Council renews Haiti gang-suppression force for six months after fresh killings
The UN Security Council voted 12-0 on Tuesday to extend the Gang Suppression Force mandate in Haiti until March 31, 2027, with China, Russia and Pakistan abstaining, hours after gangs killed at least 11 people in retaliation for a GSF raid.
The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday extended by six months the mandate of the international Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti, hours after gang members killed at least 11 people in what a local mayor said was retaliation for a GSF raid on illegal toll booths, Reuters reported.
Resolution 2829 passed 12-0 with three abstentions — China, Russia and Pakistan, whose envoys cited concerns over insufficient funds, personnel and effectiveness — extending the force’s deployment until March 31, 2027. The extension is aimed at securing Haiti’s first presidential and legislative elections since 2016, plus a constitutional referendum, on December 13.
The force, authorised a year ago to replace the under-equipped Kenya-led mission, remains at less than 30 percent of its intended strength. U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz, whose country co-sponsored the resolution, said around 1,500 troops are now deployed and the remaining 4,000 are expected in the coming months. “We’re trying to do something genuinely different,” Waltz said, noting seven previous Haiti missions had “limited success.”
Hours before the vote, gangs in Haiti’s breadbasket region burned homes and killed at least 11 people after a GSF unit killed three gang members, Reuters said. A month earlier, a massacre in the hillside town of Kenscoff left at least 47 people dead and around 50 kidnapped.
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