On Wednesday, August 21, 2024, the Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fred Mitchell, gave a press briefing at Freeport in the Bahamas. Mitchel said that the pre-deployment phase has earnestly begun for Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) officers after the recent pre-deployment assessment tour in MSSM in Haiti that was spearheaded by Jerusa Ali, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mitchell revealed that plans were afoot for some Bahamian management personnel to get to Haiti as quickly as possible since some Forward Operating Bases for the Bahamians had been secured and needed their engagements, especially during this pre-deployment phase. He observed that the Bahamians needed to be in the theatre to acclimate with the Kenyan contingent that arrived in Haiti two months ago.
Mitchell pointed out that it has not yet been established when the deployment will be done but that it is important for the Bahamas to get operationally at the top so that the planning for deployment can be done. He pointed out that the Office of the Attorney General was also working in earnest to put in place a number of agreements required to facilitate the participation of Bahamians in the MSSM in Haiti, which is being led by Kenya.
RBDF officers joining the MSSM will assist in training the coast guard element of the Haitian National Police. This is aimed at securing the national ports and intercepting drug and weapons smugglers along the coast.
Mitchell said yesterday that the details are still being decided, and he could not provide more information due to security risks. He indicated that an advance team will be deployed during this phase once all the agreements are worked out. He promised to share more information in the future as they continued to work on the specifics.
Haitians have welcomed the news that the Bahamas may deploy soon, giving them more hope for the mission and remaining optimistic that insecurity in the country will be dealt with. They pray for a new dawn in Haiti where people will be going on with their business uninterrupted by the gangs.
Comments