NAIROBI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Kenyan police officer sent to Haiti to fight gang violence was killed on Sunday during an anti-gang operation north of the Caribbean nation's capital, an official has confirmed.
Godfrey Otunge, force commander of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, said the deceased was shot during an operation in Segur-Savien in the Artibonite department.
"The officer was immediately airlifted to Aspen Level Two Hospital but, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries," Otunge said in a brief statement released on Sunday evening.
The incident, which took place in Haiti's Pont Sonde town, marked the first casualty on the Kenyan team since they arrived there in June 2024 to help contain criminal gangs.
Following a series of successful security operations in Artibonite last week that neutralized several gangs, residents of Seguin in Pont-Sonde called for similar action in their area.
Haiti has been beset by gang violence and political instability for years. ■
