PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A contingent from Sri Lanka has joined the new international Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti, a spokesperson for the UN-backed entity said Thursday.

"A contingent arrived in Port-au-Prince last night. For operational security reasons, we are not disclosing the number of personnel," a spokesperson told AFP.

New reinforcements are expected "in the coming weeks," he said, as part of the ramp-up of the force, which could eventually comprise 5,500 uniformed personnel, including police officers and soldiers, and 50 civilian staff.

Its mission is to support the Haitian National Police to neutralize armed groups that now control a large part of the Haitian capital and several of the country's major roads.

It is also tasked with securing strategic infrastructure, helping restore public safety, and creating conditions necessary for holding elections.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has for years suffered from instability as powerful gangs carry out rampant killings, rapes, looting and kidnappings.

Gang violence resulted in at least 2,300 and 1,100 injuries in the first half of 2026, UN rights chief Volker Turk said last month, calling the new force "urgently needed."

Announced by the UN Security Council last year, the GSF is to gradually replace the under-equipped and under-funded Multinational Security Support mission (MSS).

The GSF is intended to be more robust, but to date comprises fewer than 1,000 personnel, from Chad, Mongolia, Jamaica, Guatemala and El Salvador.

The number of contributing countries is now six, the spokesperson said, adding that the force "continues to expand its capabilities."

On Wednesday, an attack on the town of Kenscoff, about 20 km south of Port-au-Prince, resulted in "deaths of several residents and the burning of several homes," its mayor, Jean Massillon, told a local radio station on Thursday.

Haiti has not held elections since 2016, primarily because of poor security.

The United Nations' 2026 humanitarian aid plan for Haiti, earmarked at $880 million, is less than one-quarter funded. In a June visit to the country, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres decried "the indifference of a world that has looked away."