UN-backed Kenyan force arrives in Haiti

The foreign police are arriving nearly two years after Haiti first requested outside help to quell gang violence

What happened

Some 400 Kenyan police officers arrived in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to launch a long-awaited peacekeeping mission. The deployment is the first wave of an expected 2,500-person law enforcement effort sanctioned by the United Nations to combat gang violence roiling the Caribbean country.

Who said what

The Kenyan police will "face violent gangs that control 80% of Haiti's capital and have left more than 580,000 people across the country homeless," The Associated Press said. The mission is the "fourth major foreign military intervention in Haiti" since 1915. Haiti's previous government requested the outside help 20 months ago.

The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad and Jamaica said they will also contribute police or troops. The U.S. is providing most of the funding, logistics and supplies.

What next?

The international forces are expected to incrementally "tackle a long list of priorities, including retaking control of the country's main port and freeing major highways from criminal groups that demand money from drivers," The New York Times said. "Some gang leaders have threatened to respond to the arrival of the force with violence," The Washington Post said, while others have called for "dialogue."