Above: peacekeepers in Port-au-Prince (UN Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The United Nations and the Haitian National Police have begun a joint operation, “Operation Phoenix,” to tackle criminal activity in Port-au-Prince.

The initiative was launched in the Bel Air, Cite Soleil and Martissant neighborhoods of Haiti’s capital.

“We want to show the population that MINUSTAH, according to its mandate, remains determined to fight against crime in Haiti, in support of Haitian authorities,” said Major-General Luis Ramos, the mission’s force commander. “This will be a multi-day operation that is designed to provide long-term presence in these neighbourhoods to reinforce trust and confidence between the residence, HNP and MINUSTAH.”

The mission has sent more than 2,100 peacekeepers into the three areas.

MINUSTAH, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, has 12,000 military and police personnel stationed in the country, where they have been since 2004, when then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide went into exile.