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The officers are part of a force of police from eight nations who will be deployed across the capital to wrest control of the city from dozens of armed groups that have attacked police stations, freed prisoners and killed with impunity.

Since the international appeal for help was issued in October 2022, more than 7,500 people have been killed by violence, according to the United Nations – more than 2,500 people this year alone.

With the government weakened and the presidency vacant, dozens of gangs took over large parts of the capital earlier this year, setting up roadblocks, kidnapping and killing civilians and attacking entire neighborhoods. Between March and May, around 200,000 people were displaced from their homes, according to the UN.

Now a first group of 400 Kenyan police officers has arrived to fight the gangs. This operation was largely organized by the Biden administration. The Kenyans are the first to be deployed from a force expected to be 2,500 strong.

“You are taking on an important mission that transcends borders and cultures,” Kenyan President William Ruto told officials on Monday. “Your presence in Haiti will bring hope and relief to communities torn by violence and turmoil.”

Kenyan officials are expected to tackle a long list of priorities, including regaining control of the country’s main port and clearing major roads of criminal groups demanding money from drivers.

“The gangs’ checkpoints on these roads are also an important source of income for them, extorting money from anyone who gets through and kidnapping and holding people for large ransom demands,” says William O’Neill, the UN human rights expert for Haiti.

“The arrival of the Kenyans has been much delayed, but it comes at the right time,” especially after a new police chief and prime minister were appointed in recent weeks, he said.

A small reconnaissance team from Kenya arrived in May to begin preparations, but found equipment was inadequate, forcing the United States, the mission’s main supplier, to rush to procure armored vehicles and other equipment.

“Kenyans don’t want to be part of one of those missions that shows up on the ground and doesn’t leave their base for a month,” Dennis B. Hankins, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, said in an interview. “They want to see a quick impact.”

The Haitian authorities are facing difficult decisions, Hankins said. For example, they must decide what to do first: regain control of the central hospital in Port-au-Prince or secure the port so that the supply of fuel, food and other goods can continue unhindered.

The Kenyans would “support” the Haitian police but not replace them, he said, so that their withdrawal would not create a “security vacuum” after the end of the mission.

The mission, officially called the Multinational Security Assistance Mission, is expected to last at least a year, according to the US government. The mission, approved by the United Nations and largely funded by the US, is intended to support the Haitian police and create sufficient stability so that the transitional government can hold elections to elect a new president and members of parliament.

The U.S. military has made more than 90 flights to Haiti in preparation for the mission, transporting more than 2,600 tons of supplies. Civilian contractors have built sleeping quarters for the Kenyan officers at Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince.

In May, Haitian government officials began clearing hundreds of houses around the airport that had made it easier for gangs to hide and shoot at planes. The airfield was forced to close as a result. The airport has since reopened to commercial flights, but gang leaders have said they will fight the Kenyans, whom they see as intruders.

The gangs, the ambassador added, did not fight back during preparations at the airport, a sign that they may not be ready for a direct fight with special forces.

“Once the airport was open and operational and we saw military flights, it had a significant psychological impact on the population,” Hankins said.

Many experts are cautious in their assessment of the international troops, mainly because there is no comprehensive plan to address the root causes of Haiti’s many government problems other than tackling the security situation.

After Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced to resign at the end of April, it took several weeks for the political parties to agree on the members of the new interim presidential council. It took a full month for a successor to Henry to take office.

Garry Conille, a former UN official, took up the post in late May.

In a social media post late Monday, he said he hoped this mission would be Haiti’s last. The country has a long history of international interventions, including some that have been marred by allegations of sexual exploitation and poor sanitation that led to widespread cholera.

Until now The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad, Jamaica and Kenya have officially offered personnel for the mission.

However, the mission did not receive much financial support.

Kenyan authorities estimate the cost at $600 million, but the UN fund to finance the mission has only $21 million. The United States has pledged to provide more than $300 million to finance the mission.

The Kenyan deployment comes a month after Ruto, a Kenyan, traveled to the United States at the invitation of President Biden. The four-day trip was the first state visit by a Kenyan president in two decades and the first by an African head of state since 2008. The United States, Canada and France – Haiti’s biggest benefactors and allies – were unwilling to send their own troops to Haiti.

Kenya was the first country to publicly offer its participation. Many experts believe that the mission would be more widely supported if led by an African country.

According to experts, Ruto, who won the 2022 presidential election after a tough campaign, wanted to use his campaign to further raise his profile on the world stage.

The deployment comes at a time when Mr Ruto is facing massive protests across the country over a finance bill that critics say will further increase the already high cost of living.

Police fired tear gas and gunshots were heard on Tuesday as thousands of protesters flooded the streets around Kenya’s parliament in the capital Nairobi. Human rights activists said at least four people were shot, one fatally.

A team of Haitian police commanders recently visited Nairobi while Mr Ruto held talks with Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council.

At a police camp in Nairobi, officers have undergone physical and weapons training and received new helmets and protective vests, according to interviews with officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly to reporters.

They have also attended intensive courses in French and Creole.

In addition to protecting important infrastructure, officials are also expected to eventually secure the presidential palace, which, although still in ruins following an earthquake in 2010, remains a symbolic seat of power in Haiti.

But the 400-strong force that arrived on Tuesday is just a small step toward a major operation that will require far more people and resources to be effective, said Gédéon Jean, executive director of the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a Haitian organization that has had to suspend its work because of the increasing violence.

“There is still so much to do,” said Mr Jean.

The first group will likely “play it safe” at first, but even as more officials from other countries arrive, their task will be a daunting challenge, particularly since they have never worked together before, do not speak the same languages ​​and do not have a common “operational framework,” says Sophie Rutenbar, a visiting fellow at New York University’s Center for International Cooperation who has worked in Haiti.

“The early deployment of this force will be very risky,” said Ms Rutenbar.

Eugene Chen, a former U.N. official who closely follows Haiti, said the international mission appears to have been born out of desperation to do something. If the mission does not find ways to support Haiti’s political process, it could exacerbate the violence, Chen said.

“It is not clear,” Mr Chen added, “whether that is the right answer.”

André Paultre contributed reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti and David C. Adams from Miami.