Kenya Says Haiti Mission Must Be Fully Funded By UN States

Kenya said Thursday it would not be sending its police to Haiti unless the UN-backed multinational mission was fully funded by the world body's member states.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said the overall budget for the one-year deployment aimed at restoring calm in the gang-plagued Caribbean nation was $600 million, pending a final review.

"The resources for this mission will be arranged or mobilised among the member states of the United Nations," Kindiki told a parliamentary committee.

"Unless all resources are mobilised and availed, our troops will not leave the country." The UN Security Council gave the go-ahead in early October for the Kenya-led mission to help the overwhelmed Haitian police battle rampant gang violence.

Kenya has said it is ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel, and Kindiki said 11 countries have committed to the mission, without naming them.

"We are not sending an occupation force, we are sending a force to support the already existing structures in that country based on their request," he added.