Kenya declared this year that it will take command of the group, which is meant to support national police in combating strong gangs in Haiti, where a humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by rising violence.
But ever since, the program has been mired in legal disputes in Kenya, essentially putting the goal on pause. As part of a U.N.-approved mission to Haiti, Canada has dispatched some seventy soldiers to Jamaica to train troops from the Caribbean region, according to the Canadian military ministry.
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According to a statement from the defense ministry, the Canadian troops, who are from the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, would offer training in combat first aid and fundamental peacekeeping techniques. One of Haiti’s two official languages is French.
Approximately 330 troops from Jamaica, Belize, and the Bahamas will get training from the military during their initial month-long stay in Jamaica.
Last month, Canada announced that it would provide $80.5 million to help with the mission’s deployment under Kenyan leadership.
