A member of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti was killed along with a civilian after two armored vehicles were involved in an accident along a mountaintop road above Port-au-Prince.
In addition to the deaths, eight MSS officers were injured, three of them critically, officials said.
The fatalities were confirmed by Jack Ombaka, the spokesman for the MSS.
“They required medical evacuation to the Dominican Republic for specialized care after receiving initial treatment,” Ombaka said.
The accident occurred at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday August 31, 2025 along the Kenscoff–Pétion-Ville road at Pelerin 9 in the capital, during a recovery operation involving two MaxxPro vehicles.
“While one was towing the other due to a mechanical failure, an accident occurred,” he said. “Unfortunately, civilians were also involved.”
The MaxxPro vehicles are the largest of the armored vehicles that were donated by the United States for use by the mission.
While one vehicle crashed into a wall, another subsequently overturned, the MSS said in an earlier statement. “The injured were rushed to Lambert Santé Hospital in Pétion-Ville, where an MSS officer and a civilian were pronounced deceased,” said Ombaka.
This is the second time in over a week that the security effort in Haiti has been struck by tragedy.
Less than two weeks ago, two members of the Haiti National Police SWAT unit were killed when a “kamikaze” drone exploded on the site where the officers were. Two other police officers were injured. The mission has also lost two members of its force in gang ambushes; while one has been confirmed dead the other is still been regarded as missing even though local media has reported him as dead.
Images shared online Sunday after the road fatality showed Haitians on the mountaintop road trying to assist with rescue operations after the collision, which brought traffic to a halt and forced motorists to seek an alternative route.
“MSS extends its gratitude to members of the local community who immediately assisted in rescue efforts,” the statement said.
“The MSS offers its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and the injured in their recovery.”
The Kenyan officer becomes the third to be killed since the officers arrived there in June 2024.
It comes amid efforts to address pressure from gangs operating in the area.
A group of seven countries including the United States, asked the Security Council to strengthen the multinational force tapped to combat gang violence in Haiti.
Over a year after the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission deployed, with the initial effort led by Kenya, the situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, with its capital Port-au-Prince almost entirely under gang control.
“The MSS mission lacks the resources and capacity to fully meet the growing challenge,” the letter said, co-signed by the United States, Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kenya and the Bahamas.
Of the 2,500 police officers that the MMS had hoped to deploy to Haiti, only about 1,000 from six countries have been sent, including more than 700 from Kenya.
During the Thursday Security Council meeting, the acting US envoy to the UN said Washington and Panama City were sharing a draft resolution “to help address the growing violence by establishing a Gang Suppression Force and creating a UN Support Office.”
“The next international force must be resourced to hold territory, secure infrastructure, and complement the Haitian National Police,” Ambassador Dorothy Shea said, adding: “In parallel, a comprehensive approach is required to disrupt gang financing, arms trafficking, and other illicit flows fueling instability.”
Haiti’s political situation has been fraught since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021, fueling instability in the country.
A presidential transition council — which took over the country in 2024 after Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned — has said it will hold elections before the end of its mandate in February 2026.
At least 3,141 people have been killed in Haiti during the first half of this year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Kenya leads the MSS team since June 2024 when they arrived in Port-au-Prince.
There are about 800 personnel under MSS working with the local police in efforts to fight the gangs.
The U.S. has so far allocated over $835 million in financial and in kind-support for the mission, including $150 million in foreign assistance for logistics support and equipment, $60 million worth of equipment and services and up to $625 million from the Defense Department.
In comparison, a U.N. Trust Fund dedicated to raising money for the current Kenya-led mission has so far raised only $112.5 million.
Even if the U.S. manages to get the U.N. Security Council to endorse a new mandate for a multinational security support force in Haiti, the administration will find itself hard pressed to reach its goal of doubling the number of personnel from 2,500, which has yet to be achieved, to 5,000.
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