Chad to Deploy 800 Officers to Haiti’s Gang Suppression Force

Chad plans to send 800 police and gendarmes to Haiti this year to join the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, helping local police combat powerful armed gangs. The force, mostly composed of Kenyan police, aims to reach 5,500 personnel by October, though no major deployments have occurred yet.

Chad has announced plans to deploy 800 police officers and gendarmes to Haiti this year as part of an international effort to bolster local law enforcement against heavily armed gangs that have been terrorizing communities across the country. A senior Chadian police official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the Chadian personnel are expected to arrive by June. He added that they will undergo specialized training provided by what he described as “European and American partners” before deployment.
Roberto Alvarez commented this week that the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force is slated to reach its full operational capacity of 5,500 personnel by October. Alvarez also noted that Kenyan police officers, who were deployed under an earlier version of the mission, the Multinational Security Support (MSS) operation, should begin a gradual withdrawal. During his remarks, Alvarez indicated that the Chadian forces were receiving training in the United States; however, a U.S. State Department spokesperson contradicted this, asserting that “Chadian troops are not training in the United States.”
The Gang Suppression Force was created as an expanded successor to the Kenyan-led MSS mission, designed to provide a more robust and coordinated response to Haiti’s ongoing gang crisis. Since its approval in September 2023, however, no major deployments have yet taken place. The force currently consists predominantly of Kenyan police personnel, with smaller contingents contributed by several countries from Central America and the Caribbean. Its objective is to strengthen Haitian authorities’ ability to restore public security and combat the entrenched influence of armed gangs.
In October 2023, Chad formally communicated its willingness to contribute troops and police to the MSS mission during consultations with the United Nations, although it did not specify the number of personnel or provide a timeline for deployment. At the same time, similar pledges were received from Benin and Bangladesh. To date, none of these pledges have resulted in deployed personnel, highlighting the delays and logistical challenges in mobilizing multinational forces to support Haiti’s security needs.
The upcoming deployment of Chadian forces represents a significant step toward addressing these challenges, as international partners work to ensure that Haiti’s police can operate more effectively against well-armed gangs while mitigating risks to civilians and infrastructure. The broader effort underscores the international community’s recognition of the growing security crisis in Haiti and the need for coordinated support to stabilize the country.