Haitian security officials have said that 17 Christian missionaries, including their families, were kidnapped by a gang in Port-au-Prince in Haiti on Saturday.
According to Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, the Missionaries were said to be on their way out of the orphanage they had visited and were met with an unfortunate incident when a gang decided to kidnap them.
Some of the details remain unclear, but according to Haitian officials, the missionaries were on a bus that was headed towards the airport because they were planning to drop off some members before proceeding to another destination in their travel when the kidnapping happened.
Residents walk through a neighborhood in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, that was controlled by gangs in July. (Photo: Victor Moriyama for The New York Times)
The Kidnapping
Violence has been growing across the capital, Prince-au-Port because Haiti has been in an intense political upheaval, and kidnapping of people, whether rich or poor, is not uncommon to see.
However, despite this, the incident shocked the country and officials because of the act of kidnapping a large group of Americans.
The kidnapping happened just a day after it was decided on Friday in a unanimous vote from the United Nations Security Center that the mission would be extended by nine months.
According to New York Times, many citizens of Haiti have been calling the Biden administration for help to stabilize the situation in Haiti, but they remain reluctant.
Read Also: Road Rage Shooting Witness In Oakland Believes That Police Officers Are Searching For Wrong Car
The streets of Port-au-Prince were largely deserted on Wednesday in July after the assassination of the President Jovenel Moïse. (Photo: Baeriswyl/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
‘Highest Priority’
“The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State,” the US spokesperson said
Just on Monday, according to The New York Times, gangs shot a school where they injured a total of five people, including students, and the gang hijacked a public bus. It was said that gangs now have control over half of the city.
Some parts of the Haitian capital have been completely abandoned because of the dangers that are lurking in those parts, and the people who could not leave were forced to stay indoors and even fear going out during the day. It was said that many of the streets are now under the gangs.
Haiti lost its President when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home in July. Then it was followed by another tragedy when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti in August that took the life of more than 2,200 people.
Read Related Article: Approximately 90,000 COVID-19 Deaths Among Adults Likely Would Have Been Prevented With Vaccination
