They Flew 7,000 Miles to Fight Haitis Gangs. The Gangs Are on Top.

If the burned-out cars, bullet-riddled schools, demolished buildings and desolate streets in downtown Port-au-Prince weren’t enough evidence of the terrible things that happened here, someone left an even more ominous hint: skulls in the middle of the street.A human head propped up on a stick with another on the ground beside it in front of a government office was apparently intended as a menacing message from gang members to the Kenyan and Haitian police officers trying to restore order to Haiti: Beware, we rule these streets.A Kenyan police officer wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet and patrolling in an American armored personnel carrier took a photograph with his cellphone, while another maneuvered the vehicle around the skulls.I, along with a New York Times photographer, went on patrol through Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, with a Kenyan-led multinational security mission deployed in the country.During the six-hour tour, the Kenyans were mostly ignored by people on the street and occasionally heckled; the vehicle was shot at once.The patrol offered a glimpse into the enormous challenges the Kenyan force faces in trying to wrest control of Port-au-Prince from armed groups that have unraveled life in the country, killing indiscriminately, raping women, burning neighborhoods and leaving hundreds of thousands hungry and in makeshift shelters.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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