Kenyan MSS soldier reported missing after Haiti gang attack

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Haitian National police SWAT unit and Kenyan Police rush trough a steep hill to board an armored vehicle after one of the vehicles broke down on a steep hill while patrolling through a neighborhood, after the arrival of the first contingent of Kenyan police as part of a peacekeeping mission, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti June 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -An officer from the Kenyan multinational security support (MSS) mission was reported missing in Haiti on Tuesday after an incident involving gangs, the MSS said in a statement.

Gang members attacked the MSS forces as they were helping a Haitian national police vehicle that was stuck in a ditch, suspected to have been dug by gangs, the statement added. 

An officer was missing and the MSS and Haitian police were conducting a search and rescue operation to locate him, Kenya's police service said in a statement.

Local media in Haiti reported that a Kenyan member of the MSS was killed, and videos shared on social media showed a soldier's body lying on the ground in a bloody uniform.

 (Reporting by Harold Isaac; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Kate Mayberry)