US ambassador to UN visits Haiti, announces new aid for Kenya-led mission

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield held talks with the country's transitional presidential council and new Prime Minister Garry Conille during the day-long trip.

"Haitians deserve free and fair elections and a government that is truly accountable to the people," she said during a press conference.

The ambassador also announced $60 million was being provided via USAID to contribute "significant US funding for additional security assets and humanitarian assistance for Haiti," according to a news release.

The funds will go toward food, water, shelter and other essential needs, and comes on top of $105 million the United States had previously committed to Haiti.

Thomas-Greenfield's visit comes just days after recently deployed Kenyan police started patrolling parts of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Kenya is deploying hundreds of police officers as part of an international force to help Haiti tackle its soaring insecurity.

The country has long been rocked by gang violence, but conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then-prime minister Ariel Henry.

Unelected and unpopular, Henry stepped down in April, handing over control to the transitional government, tasked with leading the country toward its first elections since 2016.

Conille last week announced emergency measures to combat unrest in 14 communes reeling under the control of gangs.

The UN-approved, Kenya-led mission, with an initial duration of one year, will total 2,500 personnel from countries that also include Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, the Bahamas and Barbados.

The United States has ruled out sending forces, but is contributing funding and logistical support to the mission, including a "significant number" of armored vehicles.

The violence in Port-au-Prince has affected food security and humanitarian aid access, with much of the city in the hands of gangs accused of abuses including murder, rape, looting and kidnappings.