International

Kenyan President announces sending another 600 soldiers to help Haiti’s security

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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International

Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40

The death toll from the train accident that occurred on Sunday in southern Spain has risen to 40, according to investigative sources cited by EFE on Monday afternoon.

Since early Monday, search operations have focused on the damaged carriages of a Renfe train bound for Huelva, which collided with the last derailed cars of an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid after it left the tracks.

The crash has also left more than 150 people injured. Of these, 41 remain hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care units at hospitals across the Andalusia region.

More than 220 Civil Guard officers are working at the site, searching the railway line and surrounding areas for key evidence to help identify victims and determine the causes of the accident.

The tragedy has revived memories of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe in recent decades. In Spain, the most severe occurred on July 24, 2013, when an Alvia train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 people and injuring 130 others.

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At the European level, the worst rail disaster took place on June 3, 1998, in Eschede, northern Germany, when a high-speed train struck a bridge pillar at 200 kilometers per hour, resulting in 98 deaths and 120 injuries.

International

Spain’s Prime Minister pledges transparency after train crash kills at least 39

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged on Monday to ensure “absolute transparency” regarding the causes of a train crash that killed at least 39 people on Sunday in southern Spain, warning that the death toll could still rise.

The fatal accident occurred in the Andalusia region, where the number of confirmed deaths reached 39 by Monday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior.

Authorities were preparing to deploy heavy machinery to lift several derailed train cars. “We are waiting for cranes to be installed this morning to lift cars one, two and three of the Alvia train, which suffered the most damage,” said Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno Bonilla on regional television. “It is likely that once they are lifted, we may find more victims,” he added.

The disaster also left more than 120 people injured. As of Monday afternoon, 43 victims remained hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care, according to emergency services.

International

Over 160 christian worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna Church attacks

More than 160 Christian worshippers were abducted on Sunday during coordinated attacks carried out by armed gangs on two churches in a remote village in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, according to a cleric and a United Nations report accessed by AFP on Monday.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has witnessed a renewed surge in mass kidnappings since November, prompting the United States government to carry out military strikes on Christmas Day in the northwestern state of Sokoto.

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Nigerian armed groups of targeting Christians, describing the violence as a form of “genocide” against the religious community.

According to Reverend Joseph Hayab, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the north, the attackers arrived in large numbers, blocked access to the churches, and forced worshippers to flee into nearby forests.

“The attackers came in large numbers, sealed off the entrances to the churches, and drove the faithful into the bush,” Hayab told AFP.