The President of Kenya, William Ruto, announced this Saturday the arrival of another 600 troops from his country to join the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMSS), which, under the leadership of his nation, began deploying three months ago in impoverished Haiti to help the Police face the bloody armed gangs.

Ruto arrived this Saturday at the airport of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where he was received by the president of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), Edgard Leblanc Fils; the director of the National Police, Normil Rameau; and Ketleen Florestal, interim prime minister in the absence of Garry Conille, who traveled to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly, where the Kenyan president will travel after this Saturday’s visit to Haiti.

The Kenyan leader declared that his visit to Haiti had two objectives: the first to meet and share ideas with the Haitian authorities, and the second to visit the base of the security support mission in Haiti, where, as he said in a press conference with Leblanc Fils, he saw “a lot of progress” after the deployment of the mission, which costs the approval of the UN.

Ruto admitted that many people were critical and pessimistic about the mission, approved in October 2023 in response to the request made a year earlier by the Haitian authorities to eradicate the violence of armed gangs.

And that spirit of “dout, criticism and pessimism” still persists because the mission should already have 2,500 agents, but currently there are only 400 Kenyans.

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With the arrival of these, he said, there is much more security at the airport, the National Palace, the State University Hospital of Haiti, the Police Academy and also the ports.

“Now we are working to reopen the roads in order to open the country a little more,” said the Kenyan ruler, who said that the spirit of “skepticism, doubts and criticism” is beginning to decrease.

However, he maintained that the force needs the resources and equipment to guarantee security in the country.

“The troops we have in Haiti are not enough. We should have 2,500 men and women in this force. We only have 400. We also have logistical problems. We lack resources. We don’t have enough tools to continue the work,” he said.

But “there is good news. Many more countries are beginning to commit to helping Haiti. There will be a deployment of 20 other countries that have committed to sending people to join the multinational force.”

Kenya will send another 300 people in October, and the same number will arrive in November, he promised.

“The job is difficult, but we are capable of doing it,” he said, pointing out that Kenya is very motivated to help Haiti.

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For his part, Leblanc Fils said that the force “has begun to give results,” but that “it is necessary to strengthen the mission by increasing the number of troops and teams, so that it can achieve its objective and allow the State to resume responsibility for the country’s security after this support.”

The deployment of the MMSS began on July 25, with the arrival of 400 Kenyan police, who have subsequently been joined by soldiers from Jamaica and Belize.

The security situation has not recorded significant improvements in Haiti, while by the end of September countries such as the Bahamas, Barbados, Bangladesh, Chad, Benin and Belize are expected to send troops to the country, completing about 2,500 soldiers and police.

Last year, the violence caused, between deaths and injuries, eight thousand victims in Haiti, where criminal groups have come to control 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as other areas of the country, according to UN figures.

In the first half of 2024, victims of violence already rose to almost 3,900, according to a report by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (Binuh).

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Al Jazeera denounced on Sunday that heavily armed Israeli soldiers seized and destroyed equipment in their offices in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, according to a report by the head of the Qatari network office, Walid al-Omari.

“The soldiers are confiscating the equipment even though the order only refers to the closure of the office,” Al Jazeera said in his report.

The network, known for its coverage of bombings of hospitals, attacks on residential buildings and the death of unarmed civilians in Gaza, also reported that during the raid the soldiers tore off a poster from journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was murdered by an Israeli soldier two years ago while covering a military raid in the West Bank.

This fact generated international condemnations and widened tensions between Israel and the channel.

For its part, the Government’s media office in Gaza strongly condemned the Israeli Army’s decision to close Al Jazeera’s offices in Ramala, describing it as a “crime and a clear violation of international law.”

In a statement published on Telegram, they stated that this decision reflects “the weakness and fragility of the Israeli narrative in the face of the truth and facts on the ground.”

The statement also urges press unions and media organizations to condemn this act, and calls on journalists and media around the world to show solidarity with Al Jazeera in defense of press freedom.

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This military incursion comes just four days after the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) revoked the press cards of Al Jazeera journalists in the country. This measure follows the May decision to ban the canal in Israel, claiming that its coverage represented a threat to national security.

U.S. Vice President and Democratic candidate in the upcoming November presidential elections, Kamala Harris, has sought to lower expectations around her campaign, urging supporters to “not pay too much attention to the polls,” which in recent weeks have shifted and in most cases now place her ahead of her main rival, former President Donald Trump.

“With 46 days left until the election, we know this will be a close race until the end. So let’s not focus too much on the polls, because, let’s be clear, we are still the underdogs in this race, and we have a lot of hard work ahead,” Harris said during a campaign rally in Wisconsin, according to information reported by The Hill.

Harris became the Democratic candidate after U.S. President Joe Biden stepped aside following weeks of criticism that questioned his health, especially after a poor performance in a debate with Trump.

Since Harris took over the Democratic campaign, her party has consistently risen in the polls, with most surveys now giving her the lead over Trump. On Tuesday, November 5, the American people will head to the polls.