Canadian Ministry of Defense Said On Saturday, it sent about 70 troops to Jamaica to train the Caribbean nation’s military in preparation for the U.N.-authorized military intervention in Haiti.
“The Canadian personnel being deployed are drawn primarily from the 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment, Valcartier, Quebec,” the Ministry of Defense said. Said.
“Their deployment will last for an initial period of approximately one month. The Canadian Forces will train approximately 330 CARICOM personnel.” [Carribbean Community] Troops from Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas,” the ministry added.
Being from Quebec could be an advantage for Canadian troops deployed to Haiti. This seems less important if Canadians continue to be stationed in Jamaica as training officers, since French is spoken in both regions.
The Ministry of Defense said the training operation, dubbed Operation Helios, would include “training in core peacekeeping skills and combat first aid” for Caribbean troops, as well as “validation and integration exercises.”
The training is as follows carried out at the Canadian Forces’ Operational Support Hub (OSH) in Kingston, Jamaica. OSH that Canada is focusing on draw The facility, which is less than a “military base,” is one of only four such facilities around the world. The other three are in Germany, Kuwait and Senegal.
In addition to these training services, Canada has committed $80.5 million to support the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti. Kenyan police were supposed to lead the mission, but a Kenyan court blocked the plan on the following grounds: ruling President William Ruto lacks constitutional powers to send police officers overseas.
The intervention plan is also unpopular with Kenyans, and the opposition has vowed to block any move to send troops to Haiti with legal action, but a statement from the Canadian Ministry of Defense says that a “Kenyan-led MSS mission” will continue. It is assumed.
CBC News in Canada Said The 70 instructors left for Jamaica on Friday. Approximately 3,000 Canadians were registered in Haiti. gang rebellion Prime Minister Ariel Henry was trapped in the country as riots erupted in March and the streets were filled with bloody chaos. Hundreds of murders, kidnappings and other atrocities have been reported since then.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry (VALERIE BAERISWYL/AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters burn tires during a demonstration following Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 12, 2024. (CLARENS SIFFROY/AFP via Getty)
CBC News stated:
Very few RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] Police officers are currently deployed to Haiti, mostly in a training role. That number will vary. Deployment conditions allow up to 45 cavalry to be in Haiti at one time, but the current complement is in the single digits.
It’s unclear how much 330 Caribbean and Kenyan troops will be able to do to restore order in Haiti, where heavily armed gangs have filled the streets of Port-au-Prince and held entire rural areas hostage. be.
England guardian report On Monday, it announced that the situation in Haiti remains unstable and may be getting worse, with gangs relocating to “places long considered an oasis of peace.”
Some observers believe that gangs are seeking to intimidate prominent and influential Haitians from joining the “transitional council” that is expected to form a transitional government in Henry’s place. The gangs pose as “revolutionaries” trying to save the Haitian people from depredation by corrupt political elites.
Gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Chéridier and members of the G-9 coalition gang in the Delmas 3 neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on February 22, 2024. (Giles Clarke/Getty Images)
“Haiti’s governance vacuum has left everyone scrambling for power and control. I think that’s what we’re seeing now,” said American journalist Amy Wilentz. Guardian.
Wilentz said the influx of internally displaced Haitians and a steady increase in foreigners seeking to leave the country meant that a Kenyan-led coalition could swoop in and retake Port-au-Prince from the gangs. said that suggests no one really expects it.
“It’s a siege, it’s a war. And when you get into desperate situations like that, people tend to pick themselves up and head to the nearby coastline. And they get into boats and they get into a lot of water in the water. “I’m dying,” she said.
Some Haitians still try to take matters into their own hands by forming vigilante groups. Associated Press (AP) report A machete-wielding mob seized two men from police custody and hacked them to death in the regional city of Millevalance on Saturday. The rioters believed they were buying guns and ammunition for the gang.
The Associated Press reported, “Police said a crowd snatched the men from police custody after they found about $20,000 and about $43,000 worth of Haitian cash in their car and a handgun. Two guns and a box of ammunition were found.”
