\n<\/p>\n
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) \u2014 Foreigners with guns are met with hostility in most countries in the world.<\/p>\n
But the departure of armed soldiers and police from Haiti in 2017<\/a> after nearly two decades on the streets helped criminals seize control of much of the country. Gangs have carried out so much robbery, rape and kidnapping<\/a> that Haitians on Tuesday welcomed news that the United Nations Security Council had approved deployment<\/a> of an international armed force to Haiti.<\/p>\n News of the vote \u2014 which authorized a one-year deployment of a Kenya-led force<\/a> to help quell violent gangs \u2014 dominated conversations and radio and TV programs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like God heard Haiti\u2019s prayers, and he\u2019s sending help,\u201d said Wensley Johnson, 40.<\/p>\n Johnson had to flee his home this year after gangs pillaged the community where he lived, a community built by people who survived Haiti\u2019s 2010 devastating earthquake<\/a>. Worried about the never-ending gang violence, Johnson sent his son and stepdaughter to live with his mother in the countryside, but the construction worker struggles to care for them.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, construction has been halted at several sites because gangs have seized control of those areas, and Johnson has been unable to find work.<\/p>\n \u201cStability would be key for everybody to get back to their normal activities,\u201d he said, adding that he\u2019s relieved that a foreign armed force will be deployed.<\/p>\n \u201cOur forces don\u2019t have the manpower to fight the gangs with the guns that they have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Haiti\u2019s National Police has launched several operations against gangs, but the department doesn’t have enough resources or staff, with only some 10,000 active officers for a country of more than 11 million people.<\/p>\n The Kenya-led mission would be the first time in almost 20 years that a force would be deployed to Haiti. A 2004 U.N. mission ended in 2017.<\/p>\n The upcoming mission would be led by Kenya, with Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda also pledging personnel. The non-U.N. mission would be reviewed after nine months and be funded by voluntary contributions, with the U.S. pledging up to $200 million. Kenya\u2019s foreign minister has said the force could be deployed in early January.<\/p>\n \u201cThey should be here sooner than January,\u201d said Peter John, a 49-year-old carpenter who heard the news on a small black-and-white radio perched in his shop, where he makes beds, tables and cabinets.<\/p>\n He worries that gang violence will only keep escalating.<\/p>\n \u201cOne morning you hear about guys taking over an area, killing and raping kids, leaving everybody without a home, and that\u2019s scary,\u201d he said. \u201cA force that\u2019s coming into the country would be able to fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, he said, Haitians will take care of gangs the only way they know how: though a violent uprising known as \u201c bwa kale<\/a>,\u201d which has killed an estimated 350 people since it began in April.<\/p>\n \u201cThe population will put an end to their lives. They have people suffering too much,\u201d he said of gangs.<\/p>\n More than 2,400 people have been reported killed from January through mid-August this year, with more than 950 kidnapped and another 902 wounded, according to U.N. statistics. Violence against women and children in particular has risen.<\/p>\n Among those kidnapped and tortured are friends of Jannette Boucher, a 37-year-old store owner who sells women\u2019s and children\u2019s clothing. She herself escaped a gang attack earlier this year while driving alone. Gangs shot at her car, breaking a window as she pressed the gas and fled.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yeah, I\u2019m excited,\u201d she said of the upcoming deployment. \u201cIt\u2019s time that Haiti gets some real support.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 200,000 Haitians have lost their homes to gangs who set fire to communities and rape and kill residents in a bid to wrestle territory from rival gangs.<\/p>\n Previous foreign interventions in Haiti have left many wary and angry.<\/p>\n A U.N. stabilization mission launched in 2004 was marred by a sexual abuse scandal<\/a> and the introduction of cholera<\/a>, which killed nearly 10,000 people.<\/p>\n \u201cThey leave bad memories in Haiti,\u201d Jean-Pierre Elie, a 60-year-old private teacher, said of previous interventions.<\/p>\n He said he supports the upcoming force because \u201cit\u2019s unbearable to live in Haiti,\u201d but worries the past might be repeated.<\/p>\n \u201cThe soldiers are sometimes out of control,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like they don\u2019t have anyone to report to. They do whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n Johan Lefebvre Chevallier, Haiti director of the nonprofit organization Mercy Corps, said that he hopes the foreign armed force would respect human rights and restore some stability.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst outcome would be for this new intervention to further increase violence and burden those facing the brunt of this security and humanitarian crisis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Critics of the new mission also have warned of past abuses by Kenya\u2019s police force<\/a>, but supporters say the resolution authorizing the force contains strong language to prevent abuse, and calls for correct wastewater management.<\/p>\n The U.N. Security Council approved the resolution nearly a year after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and 18 top government officials requested the immediate deployment of a foreign armed force<\/a> to fight gangs overwhelming the country.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n