GSF Commander Gen. Batsuuri Formally Assumes Command of UN-Authorized Force as ~800 Personnel Deploy — Mission Faces Cité Soleil Vacuum Test

Major General Erdenebat Batsuuri of Mongolia arrived at Toussaint Louverture International Airport on May 14, 2026, and was formally installed as commander of the UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force (GSF) — replacing Kenyan Gen. Godfrey Otunge whose predecessor mission (MSS) formally concluded with the final 150 Kenyan officers departing April 28, 2026. Batsuuri brings over 30 years of UN peacekeeping experience across Cyprus, Kosovo, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and South Sudan, making him the first non-Kenyan commander of an international security mission in Haiti since the MSS launched in June 2024. The GSF currently has approximately 800 personnel deployed — a Chadian contingent of 400+ (the largest contributor, expected to expand to 1,500 by June 2026), approximately 75 Guatemalans, and approximately 70 Salvadorans — all operating as an advance force far below the 5,500-person force authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 2793. The formal command transition on May 14 came as the ongoing Cité Soleil gang crisis (78+ killed since May 9, MSF hospital closed) exposed the GSF's critical deployment gap: the advance force of ~800 remains concentrated exclusively in Port-au-Prince's city center, leaving Cité Soleil, the Cul-de-Sac Plain, and the entire Artibonite Department without international security coverage. UN Security Council briefings in late April 2026 documented that while national pledges from 13 states exceeded the 5,500-person authorized ceiling, only $59 million of over $200 million pledged had been disbursed to the GSF Trust Fund. Full operational strength is not expected until fall-end 2026. Batsuuri's appointment represents the institutional transition from a Kenya-led, African Union-backed mission to a truly UN-commanded multinational force — though critics note the force's current scale remains insufficient to address the security collapse his predecessor failed to reverse.