New leader of UN-backed force arrives in Haiti with Chadian advance team

• Summary

• GSF aims to reach full force by summer

• Some 4,500 troops still to deploy to meet target

• Unclear who will provide additional troops, funds

• Some 1.4 million Haitians displaced ​by gang conflict

PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 1 (Reuters) - A new leader of the U.N.-backed ‌Gang Suppression Force (GSF) arrived in Haiti on Wednesday together with an advance deployment of troops from the Central African nation of Chad, the GSF said in a statement on social media.

Jack Christofides, a South African U.N. official ​who has overseen various peacekeeping operations in Africa, was appointed as Special Representative of the ​GSF late last year.

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The GSF did not say how many people were in ⁠the advance team, nor if Kenyan forces already on the ground would begin to withdraw as previously ​reported.

Neither the GSF nor Haiti’s national police immediately responded to requests for comment.

Christofides was tasked ​to work with the GSF’s Force Commander Godfrey Otunge to develop a strategic plan, oversee accountability, coordinate with donors and partners and keep the U.N. Security Council abreast of developments.

The force was initially approved to help Haitian security ​forces fight off powerful gangs, armed with weapons believed to be largely trafficked from the U.S. The first contingents ​of the Kenyan-led force did not deploy until the following June.

As of early this year, less than 1,000 ‌troops - ⁠mostly Kenyan with smaller numbers of Central American and Caribbean personnel - were in Haiti.

This was under 40% of the force’s initial goal and less than 20% of the larger target of some 5,500 troops approved, opens new tab last year.

The U.N. has said the GSF should begin deploying from April and reach full numbers ​by summer, or fall ​at latest. The GSF’s ⁠mandate is due to expire at the end of September 2026, though the U.N. Security Council may renew it for another year.

Chad has pledged 800 ​troops, but it is unclear which other countries might contribute personnel.

Since the ​first Kenyan ⁠contingents arrived in 2024 under the prior model known as the MSS, more than 800,000 more people have fled their homes as gangs cement their grip on the capital and expand to other regions in the Caribbean’s ⁠most ​populous nation.

Some 12% of the population is now internally ​displaced, over 1.4 million people.

The MSS - which was also reliant on voluntary contributions - suffered from chronic underfunding, as well as lack of ​troops and reliable equipment.

Reporting by Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Natalia Siniawski

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Sarah Morland

Thomson Reuters

Sarah is a British-French journalist covering news from across Latin America and the Caribbean, including gender violence, mining developments, regional finance and conflict in Haiti. She joined Reuters in 2019 and studied investigative journalism at City, University of London. Based in Mexico City, Sarah enjoys spicy food, dad rock and befriending the local cat population.

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