The United States and Panama are urging the UN Security Council to authorize a 5,550-member force with the power to detain gang members in Haiti to help stop the escalating violence.
The two countries outlined their proposal to transform the Kenya-led multinational force now deployed in the Caribbean nation into a much larger force in a draft resolution to the UN Security Council obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Gangs have grown in power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. They now control 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have expanded their activities, including looting, kidnapping, sexual assaults, and rape, into the countryside. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination.
The Security Council mandate for the Kenya-led multinational force ends Oct. 2 and council members are expected to vote at the end of the month on the U.S. and Panama draft resolution.
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