Crash of armored vehicles in Port-au-Prince kills 2, wounds eight Kenyan officers
U.N.-backed mission says one police officer and a civilian died; three injured officers flown to Dominican Republic
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — An accident involving two armored vehicles on the outskirts of Haiti’s capital left two people dead and eight Kenyan police officers wounded, the U.N.-backed security mission said Monday.
The mission’s spokesman, Jack Ombaka, said the crash occurred Sunday evening along the Kenscoff–Pétion-Ville route when an armored vehicle towing a disabled vehicle broke down. One of the dead was a member of the Kenyan contingent serving with the international mission; the other was a civilian, Ombaka said. Three of the injured officers were reported in serious condition and were airlifted to the neighboring Dominican Republic for treatment.
The Kenyan officers were part of a multinational policing effort deployed more than a year ago to assist Haiti’s government in combating heavily armed gangs that control large parts of Port-au-Prince and other areas. The mission is supported by the United Nations and led by Kenyan police contingents operating alongside other international and Haitian security forces.
The accident brings to three the number of Kenyan police officers killed in Haiti since the mission began, Ombaka said. One officer was previously killed in a gang attack, and another remains missing and is presumed dead, he said.
Haiti has been grappling with escalating gang violence, political instability and severe humanitarian needs since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. International forces and aid organizations have faced heightened security risks while attempting to deliver assistance and restore order amid persistent unrest.
Kenyan police and other international personnel have frequently operated in hazardous conditions while carrying out patrols, raids and support operations aimed at dislodging gangs from strongholds and protecting civilians. The death of a civilian in Sunday’s crash underscores the broader dangers to residents who live and travel near operational routes and conflict zones.
Haiti’s government and the U.N.-backed mission have not released additional details about the circumstances that led to the breakdown and subsequent crash, and investigators were reported to be looking into the incident. Medical and logistical constraints in Haiti have led authorities to transfer critically wounded personnel to medical facilities in the Dominican Republic when local care is unavailable.
The mission has previously said it would adapt its operations to protect its personnel and civilians, but it also faces logistical challenges and the persistent threat of ambushes and attacks by gang groups that control access to many neighborhoods in the capital. Officials did not immediately provide a timetable for any operational changes following the crash.