Avellon Williams
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI- Haiti’s National Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers and two United States Government Officials confirmed today that the remaining 12 hostages taken by the Haitian gang more than two months ago have been released.
The 17 missionaries were abducted by a notorious gang, 400 Mawozo, just east of Port-au-Prince. Among the kidnapped were 12 adults and 5 children, including an 8-month-old.
Missionaries and their relatives were abducted on Oct. 16 and held for several days in Haiti, where kidnapping for ransom has continued unabated.
Christian Aid Ministries in Berlin, Ohio, called on its supporters to pray and fast “in response to the abduction, along with intercession for those still in captivity.”
After the first two missionaries were freed in November, three more were released on December 5. Immediately following their release, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. was working with the Haitian and Canadian governments “to make sure the remaining hostages are released as soon as possible.”
To release the hostages, the gang requested $17 million, or $1 million per person. If the ransom was not paid, one of their leaders had threatened to kill the hostages.
Following the July 7 assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moise, Haiti is experiencing an unprecedented spike in gang violence and kidnapping, which is compounded by a massive earthquake on Aug. 14 in the country’s southern region.
In addition to hijacking fuel tankers, insurgents have temporarily blocked the main road linking the capital Port-au-Prince with the southern peninsula.
Armed conflict in the Martissant neighborhood of Port-au-Prince has forced more than 19,000 Haitians to flee.
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