KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC—Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the deployment of local troops to Haiti is contingent on finalizing critical resourcing and awaiting confirmation on funding and other agreements to further the mission.
The Prime Minister said he received the update from the Chief of Defence Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force during a recent meeting of the National Security Council.
The deployment of troops to Haiti is part of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to restore stability to the country, which has long been rocked by gang violence that worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in the capital, Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Earlier this week, the government of Kenya sent troops to Haiti.
In addition to Jamaica, other countries in the region have pledged to assist in restoring order: The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Belize.
In the first three months of this year, 2,500 people were killed or injured in Haiti, and the spike in violence has displaced more than half a million people.
Gangs now control at least 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and key roads.
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