Benin offers 2,000 troops to tackle gangs in Haiti
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00:00 Benin has offered 2,000 troops to help Haiti's National Police Force tackle gang violence,
00:07 US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said.
00:11 That's part of a Kenyan-led mission authorised by the UN in October.
00:17 Close to 5,000 people were killed in gang violence in Haiti last year,
00:22 and some 300,000 driven from their homes, according to UN estimates.
00:28 Thomas-Greenfield was speaking in Guyana on Monday,
00:31 where she had travelled for the Caribbean Community Summit.
00:34 She said she had learned of Benin's offer just before starting the trip.
00:38 Some Caribbean countries that had pledged support to the Haiti mission
00:41 had called for more Francophone countries to join the effort, she added.
00:45 The US has committed $200 million,
00:50 and pledged to boost efforts to stem the flow of illicit arms to the Caribbean region.
00:54 The UN estimates firearms held by Haiti's gangs are largely smuggled from the US.
01:00 Kenya, which has promised to lead the mission, offered 1,000 police officers.
01:06 However, a local court barred the move as unconstitutional.
01:10 Kenyan President William Ruto has, however, said that satisfying the court's concerns
01:14 can be simply achieved, and that the plan will go ahead.
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