A Kenyan police officer serving as a peacekeeper in Haiti has been killed during a skirmish with gangs in the Caribbean nation, APA can report from Nairobi on Monday.
The unnamed officer as part of the Kenyan police contingent to help end the gang warfare in Haiti was part of a patrol when he was shot dead by gang members.
The officer who died of his injuries after the skirmish, is the Kenyan peacekeeping mission’s first casualty since they were deployed on the island last June.
News of his death has left Kenyans grief-stricken amid concern for the safety of the mission.
President William Ruto has been under pressure to abort what is generally seen as a dangerous mission in Haiti and recall the police officers serving on the island.
Haiti has been overwhelmed by years of gang violence which has claimed the lives of over 5,000 people last year alone.
Kenya had volunteered to lead a police peacekeeping mission in Haiti following a request to that effect by the international community led by neighbours the United States which is bankrolling the exercise.
The East African nation recently deployed an additional 217 peacekeepers in Haiti.
WN/as/APA