CHINA and Russia have opposed a campaign by the United States to transform the Kenya-led multinational force in Haiti into a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

The two nations called a UN security council meeting as gangs intensified attacks, shooting at four aircraft, which led to the closure of the airport in the capital Port-au-Prince, and attacking the upmarket district of Petionville on Tuesday. 

The UN estimates that the gangs control 85 per cent of the city and have spread into surrounding areas.

The US proposed a UN peacekeeping mission in early September as a way to secure regular financing for the multinational force, which has the world body’s backing but faces a serious funding crisis.

Washington, the main financial contributor to the mission, tried to get the 15-member security council to sign off on a draft resolution last week to start the transformation. 

The US is putting up $300 million (£237m) a year to pay for the force.

But China and Russia refused to discuss the resolution and instead called Wednesday’s council meeting, where they made their opposition clear.

Chinese deputy UN ambassador Geng Shuang said the council had extended the mandate of the multinational force only a month ago and discussing its transformation into a peacekeeping operation now woud “only interfere” and make it harder to tackle its funding shortfall and get all the police pledged to Haiti.

“Deploying a peacekeeping operation at this time is nothing more than putting peacekeepers into the front line of the battles with gangs,” Mr Geng added.

Russian deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky argued that the role of peacekeepers was “to maintain peace and not to fight crime in urban areas or to save a dysfunctional state that has been plunged into domestic conflict.”

US deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea told the council that it was “time for the security council to take the initial steps to realise Haiti’s request to help re-establish security for the people of Haiti.”