Kenyan police officers who have been deployed to combat escalating gang violence in Haiti are confronting daily hostilities in Port-au-Prince.

Police have been situated in a Kenya-led multinational force since earlier this year.

Gangs now control approximately 85 percent of the city. Humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, have suspended operations due to safety concerns, further straining aid delivery to those in need.

On Thursday, Kenyan and Haitian officers engaged in a firefight with heavily armed gangs near the former National Police headquarters, a site previously abandoned due to gang encroachment.

"The days are numbered for the gangs. Either you surrender...or we are coming for you," said Commander Godfrey Otunge of the United Nations-backed mission.

Over 700,000 Displaced by Gang Territories

In the first quarter of 2024 alone, around 2,500 people were killed or injured due to gang violence, marking the deadliest period since the U.N. began recording such statistics in January 2022.

Additionally, gang activities have displaced an estimated 700,000 people in recent years, with gunmen burning and looting communities to expand their territories.

Domestically, there are concerns that Haitian police, along with their reinforcements, have yet to secure gang strongholds or apprehend key leaders.

There are unavoidable internal issues; nearly 20 Kenyan officers have tendered resignations over delayed pay and poor working conditions. While they continue to serve, their concerns remain unaddressed.

Kenya's national police chief, Douglas Kanja, claimed that officers had been paid up to October, but officers reported their last payment was in September.

Half Of Haitians Displaced Are Children

The extent of the nation's humanitarian crisis is deepening.

Last week, approximately 42,000 people, half of them children, were rendered homeless. UNICEF estimates that six million people, including 3.3 million children, will require humanitarian aid next year.

The United States and other nations have advocated for a more robust U.N. peacekeeping mission, citing the current operation's lack of resources and funding.

However, efforts to transition the mission into a U.N. peacekeeping force face resistance from China and Russia, who prefer to give the existing mission more time to establish peace.

Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky expressed "shock and horror" at what is happening on the streets of Port-au-Prince. He accused the U.S. and other countries that initially supported the multinational force of failing to fund it.

Acting Prime Minister Sacked Within Months

Haiti's political instability compounds the mission's challenges. The Transitional Presidential Council recently dismissed acting Prime Minister Garry Conille, who had only been in power for several months.

Businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé replaced Conille on November 11.

The council, established to facilitate a democratic transition, has been fraught with infighting, hindering efforts to restore order.

French President Emmanuel Macron was caught on video among his G20 peers describing the council as "morons" that "never should have dismissed him."

He said that their decision-making at a time of significant organized crime was "completely dumb."