17 American and Canadian missionaries abducted in Haiti on their way back from visiting an orphanage about 30 kilometers (30 miles)

A group of 17 American and Canadian missionaries were abducted in Port-au-Prince while leaving the orphanage. According to sources citing newspapers, one of the most dangerous in Haiti, the armed group “400 Maoists” is responsible for the abduction. New York Times And Washington Post. On Saturday morning, criminal gangs turned over several cars traveling on routes under their control and abducted American and Canadian missionaries and Haitian citizens.

Saturday abducted group 5 children and 12 adults, All of them Members of the Christian Aid Ministries of the Missionaries Association, Based in the state of Ohio. This was confirmed by the same association in A statement It said 16 of the abductees were Americans and one was a Canadian, while 7 of the 12 adults were women and 5 were men.

“We hear the urgent prayers of the Christian Aid Ministry team who were abducted during a trip to visit an orphanage on Saturday, October 16th,” the document published on the missionary group’s website said. “We are looking for guidance from God to solve this, and the authorities are looking for ways to help.”.

Fond went to an orphanage in the Paris Commune and asked for help in a message posted on a WhatsApp group shortly after one of the abducted Americans was abducted while returning from Christian work, he promised Washington Post A proof of knowing what happened. “Please pray for us! They have taken us hostage, they have abducted our driver. Pray, pray, pray. We do not know where they are taking us.”He conveyed the message in a hopeless tone.

Abductions have sadly become commonplace in Haiti since early 2020. They occur blindly and affect any social classThey have become a source of funding for armed gangs controlling numerous neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country.

The Center for the Study of Human Rights (CARDH) has condemned this month that Haiti has recorded a “rapid” increase in abductions over the past two months, from 117 in September to 60 percent more than in August. . Since the beginning of the year, 628 abductions have been reported in the countryThe card notes that this number will increase as other countries provide data on their citizens, including 29 foreigners from three countries.

Provided a brief deal on the two-week abductions between the gangs Assassination of President Jovnell Moyes, Held on July 7, And his burial, Held on the 23rd of the same month, but then sent the UN office in Haiti to the Security Council on 27 September that they had resumed their operation.

Clashes between gangs over control of the territories displaced about 19,000 people in Port-au-Prince in early June., Caused roadblocks and difficulties in delivering goods to certain regions of the country.

In August, authorities had to negotiate a new ceasefire with gangs to evacuate humanitarian groups assigned to serve the affected areas. Catastrophic earthquake It caused great devastation in the south of the country, where at least 690 thousand people were affected.