Kenyan police patrol gang-ridden Haiti capital

DW (English)

Violent gangs control large areas of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, terrorizing civilians. A UN-mandated Kenya-led multinational force is on the ground to restore security.

Transcript

00:00We're about to go on patrol with the Kenyan police here in Port-au-Prince where gangs

00:04control large parts of the city. The Kenyans are here to support the Haitian police in

00:09securing the city.

00:12After crossing through buzzing streets full of life, just beyond Haiti's Supreme Court,

00:16everything changes.

00:20Before this place was unaccessible. No one could have crossed where we are right now.

00:26But now, as you can see, the street is open, but most likely we may be shot at.

00:33We're entering a wasteland. Clear signs of fierce fighting. Destroyed and burned out

00:39houses. Looted businesses.

00:43Gangs could still be hiding in the buildings.

00:47This part of the city is deserted. The UN says more than 700,000 people have been displaced.

00:53They fled when the gangs started spreading terror. Burning down houses. Killing indiscriminately.

00:59Raping women and girls.

01:03These are barricades the gangs erect to keep the police out of their territory. They pose

01:08a major challenge. Often they use shipping containers stolen from the port. Part of the

01:14Kenyans' job is to remove them by pushing them with their armoured vehicle.

01:18So we are going to push them right now so that you can see what we usually do.

01:22A few metres before we reach the barricade, we see people running.

01:26Those are civilians. They start running away because they know a shootout may begin any

01:30time.

01:31Is it moving?

01:36Something hits the hatch above us. The smell of petrol engulfs us.

01:49As you can see petrol is still dripping inside this vehicle. They are still here so they

01:58can still fire at us.

02:01Instead the burning Molotov just misses our accompanying vehicle.

02:10They target the rest of the convoy, shooting from abandoned buildings.

02:16Kenyan forces in the second vehicle fire back.

02:22Meanwhile the commander is getting information from his drone operator.

02:32He warns they are preparing to throw more petrol on us.

02:36They told us actually they have started positioning themselves with bigger containers than these

02:42That is five litres and above.

02:44So that when you go just below the building they pour the fuel on us and then they burn.

02:49This was like a sign of a warning.

02:51Not long ago Mugo was inside this vehicle when it was attacked and set alight.

02:56But they escaped unharmed.

02:58If we go there they might burn us right now.

03:01So going there it needs a lot of planning.

03:04As for now we cannot go back there.

03:07On the other side of the barricades we see people running, likely gang members.

03:12We have to move quickly.

03:15Passing by some civilians who are still living here, despite the constant risk.

03:26And another not too subtle warning left by the gangs.

03:30Human skulls.

03:35The skulls are usually elected there in order to intimidate us.

03:40Like sending a message, hey, don't make an attempt of coming through this street.

03:45We are here.

03:46But then we cannot be intimidated by such stuff.

03:49We have seen worse things than those.

03:52The Kenyans selected for this mission have seen action in the border region between Kenya

03:56and Somalia, battling the Islamist militants of Al-Shabaab.

04:01We arrive at the seaport, a crucial lifeline for Haiti, bringing goods, medicine and food

04:07into the country.

04:08It was one of the first locations the Kenyans secured after their arrival.

04:14But when I want to film across the bay, it becomes clear, secured, but not fully safe.

04:22We're here at the port in Port-au-Prince and that is where the Kenyan police regained control

04:28in July.

04:29So it is partly operational, but not fully yet.

04:32And as you can see, across the bay is where the gangs still control the territory.

04:39And they sometimes shoot across the bay.

04:40And just a few days ago, they shot a dock worker here on this side.

04:45So it's still highly dangerous to be here.

04:47It's very dangerous.

04:48It's dangerous.

04:49Of course it is.

04:50But then we have to keep on pressing on.

04:52We cannot leave the gangs to control the area.

04:55And then the problem is, the Haitians really need help from the international community.

05:00We need to have people supporting us.

05:03We need more equipment so that we can be able to push on and on to make sure that the place

05:08is safe for the civilians.

05:11Funding is the main issue.

05:12The US is the largest donor, but contributions to the UN trust fund are voluntary.

05:18So there's still a $200 million shortfall.

05:21And the mission is still missing personnel from other countries.

05:26Despite the challenges, Mission Commander Godfrey Otunga prefers to focus on their achievements

05:31so far.

05:32We are talking about the airport.

05:35It is working.

05:36You talk about the hotels.

05:38The hotels in Port-au-Prince are now fully booked.

05:41The businesses that were closed are now opening up.

05:43Schools that were closed are now being reopened.

05:46But he also sees the deficiencies.

05:48They urgently need helicopters to drop police inside gang areas, and boats to intercept

05:53weapons supplies by sea to the gangs.

05:57So when does he expect the mission to achieve its aims?

06:01Immediately I get whatever I'm talking about in terms of equipment, in terms of personnel,

06:05in terms of funding.

06:06It's just a matter of time.

06:08Because we are aware that the mandate, the mission mandate has been extended for one

06:11year.

06:12And after one year, the expectation from the international community, Haiti has to go for

06:16elections.

06:18Critics say it could take much longer than that.

06:21Himler Rebu is the former head of special forces of the Haitian military and former

06:26government minister.

06:27He says the job should be done by a professional army, not foreigners, fighting the gangs house

06:33to house, and not from inside vehicles that are not compatible for urban combat.

06:39It's a joke.

06:40They don't have the manpower.

06:42They don't have the equipment.

06:43They don't have the aerial means.

06:45They don't have the maritime means.

06:47They don't have the means to move by land.

06:49So they are tourists.

06:50Tourists, that's a sentiment you hear often here.

06:57With only 400 officers, the Kenyans are vastly outnumbered by the roughly 200 gangs.

07:02That's an estimated 15,000 fighters.

07:08We managed to talk anonymously with officers from the Haitian police.

07:12Every day they're out, either alone or together with the Kenyans.

07:16But they're not too happy about them.

07:19Since they have arrived, they usually don't really want to enter the risk zones, the hot

07:24zones.

07:25They often tend to retreat.

07:26They often tend to return to their base.

07:29They hope in the coming months, the Kenyans will be more offensive in fighting the gangs.

07:34Kenya's pledge to send another 600 officers may feel part of the need, but Haitian police

07:39officers tell us that with only limited knowledge of the local context, the new arrivals will

07:45still struggle.

07:48And the Kenyans?

07:49They say to achieve more security, they need the promised international support.

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