At least 17 passengers have been kidnapped from a tourist bus by a Haitian gang known for kidnappings for ransom.
The car driver this is from the Dominican Republic, while eight of the passengers are Turkish nationals, according to reports.
Last month, a Dominican ambassador was kidnapped in the same region outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
After a four-day ordeal, the diplomat was let free.
“Missionaries” from the Dominican Republic have crossed into Haiti, said Dominican daily El Da.
Turkish diplomats in Haiti, on the other hand, said they were working with an educational organization.
The 400 Mawozo gang’s base at Croix-des-Bouquets, according to Haitian media, was where they were found.
Raidings for ransom have increased dramatically in Haiti during the last two decades.
According to Haiti’s Center for Analysis and Research on Human Rights, more than 1,200 persons, 81 of them foreign nationals, were kidnapped last year.
There were 17 American and Canadian missionaries abducted last year. In exchange for their release, the 400 Mawozo gang requested $1 million (£800,000) from each member.
After four months in imprisonment, the missionaries were all released, although it’s not known whether ransom payments were paid.
Foreign hostages have brought attention to the gang violence in Haiti, but it is local residents who are being targeted most severely.
It has been estimated that half a quarter of students have been unable to attend school owing to the closure of 1,700 schools in the city and the surrounding region due to gang shootouts.
When rifle bullets are flying in the air, “no kid can go to school,” a spokesman for Unicef in the country remarked.
President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021 by mercenaries as different groups battled to acquire control of the country, which had a weak police force.
