A Kenyan police officer in Haiti, together with his colleague, is currently nursing serious injuries after a gunshot to the head during deadly clashes with Haitian gangs over the past week.
The new turn of events was revealed by three officers who were speaking on the condition of anonymity and disclosed that the officer was shot in the head after a bullet pierced his helmet, and the other was hit in the ear when a gunshot penetrated the walls of an armoured vehicle.
The officers who were speaking to Reuters informed the officers that they were injured during routine patrols in the capital of Port-au-Prince, in a development that was confirmed by the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission spokesperson, Jack Ombaka.
"As in any mission, casualties are sometimes unavoidable," he told Reuters while adding that the officers had been evacuated to the Dominican Republic for specialised treatment.
The news comes as the growing list of casualties as the attacks by the gangs increase in frequency and damage.
The mission encountered its first fatality in February after a Kenyan police officer died by a gunshot to the head. Another a Kenyan officer, believed to have died on Monday, March 24, gained controversy after contradictory reports by the Kenyan and Haitian governments split opinion on whether he was dead or missing.
As per Inspector General Douglas Kanja, who was speaking on March 30, efforts were underway to recover the missing officer.
The officers further shed light on their troubles in the gang-ridden country, lamenting about the poor quality of their equipment in countering the threat of the gangs.
According to them, 20 armoured vehicles have been grounded since the past weekend after officers refused to use them, complaining that this was the second time a vehicle had failed to stop a bullet.
When asked about concerns about the equipment, Ombaka stated: "MSS continues to receive increased logistical support from partners and stakeholders, with assurances that all equipment meets international standards."
Even so, senior MSS officers disclosed that an MSS delegation plans to travel to Washington this week to present concerns over the quality of protective gear to US officials.
The United States has provided most of the funding and equipment for the mission, which has struggled to secure significant contributions from other countries.
Kanja, in his March 30 address, also assured that the funding from the US was still ongoing despite reports indicating that the Haiti mission was under threat over a rumoured US funding cut.
