Kenya sent more than 200 police officers to Haiti on Saturday, providing backup to an understaffed security mission in the Caribbean country where rampant gang violence has displaced more than a million people.

Kenya's interior minister said the east African nation has deployed another 217 police officers to Haiti as part of a multinational force to curb gang violence. Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement Saturday that the police officers left Kenya on Friday.

There are still significant challenges with the funding that were already there with the Biden administration.”

Kenyan President William Ruto said the plan is eventually to send 2,500 police officers to Haiti under the UN-backed mission.

Criminal gangs still control some 85 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince, the United Nations estimates, despite the deployment last June of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS

The 217 officers will reinforce the first batch of 400 officers who were deployed last year to the Caribbean nation to restore peace. Gang violence killed at least 5,601 people in Haiti in 2024

Kenya deployed over 200 police officers to Haiti to strengthen the anti-gang mission amid escalating violence. With over a million displaced, the U.N.-backed initiative has seen pledges from 10 countries but minimal action.

The Kenya-led security support mission to Haiti is, at present, unfit for purpose. More than six months after deploying to help police wrest back control, rampant gangs have gained more territory and power while access to vital humanitarian aid for desperate civilians has dwindled.