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.
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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.