The Central African nation of Chad is sending 1,500 military personnel to Haiti as part of a United Nations-backed security mission aimed at fighting gang violence, according to a presidential letter delivered to the country’s parliament.
Chadian President Mahamat Déby Itno informed lawmakers in N’Djamena on Monday that two military battalions, each consisting of 750 soldiers, will serve for one year beginning this month in response to a UN request.
“A contingent of 400 men has already been sent to Haiti as part of this mission that honors Chad and its defense and security forces,” the president stated.
The UN Security Council authorized the expansion of a Kenya-led international security force in Haiti to 5,500 personnel last year, establishing what’s known as the Gang Suppression Force with enhanced authority to arrest suspected gang members—powers the earlier mission lacked.
The initial peacekeeping effort that began in 2023 was designed to include 2,500 personnel under Kenyan police leadership, but faced significant challenges due to insufficient staffing and funding shortfalls.
Criminal gangs have seized control of approximately 90% of Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, along with large areas throughout the nation’s central territories. The country has been in turmoil since 2021, when armed gunmen murdered former President Jovenel Moïse at his residence.
Human rights organizations reported that at least 30 people died and dozens more went missing following a fresh assault by the Gran Grif gang on the central Haitian town of Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite last month.
