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Ohio Missionary Group Says 3 More Abductees Freed In Haiti

This Oct. 21, 2021, photo shows a sign outside Christian Aid Ministries in Titanyen, Haiti, which had 17 of their members kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang. Two of 17 abducted members of a missionary group have been freed in Haiti and are safe, “in good spirits and being cared for,” their Ohio-based church organization, Christian Aid Ministries, announced Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021.
Matias Delacroix
/
AP
This Oct. 21, 2021, photo shows a sign outside Christian Aid Ministries in Titanyen, Haiti, which had 17 of their members kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang. Two of 17 abducted members of a missionary group have been freed in Haiti and are safe, “in good spirits and being cared for,” their Ohio-based church organization, Christian Aid Ministries, announced Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021.

A religious group based in Ohio has announced that a violent gang in Haiti has released three more hostages, while another 12 remain abducted.

The statement Monday from Christian Aid Ministries said the people were released on Sunday in Haiti and are "safe and seem to be in good spirits." The group provided no further details.

The group from Christian Aid Ministries were kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang on Oct. 16 when they were reportedly headed back to their commune after visiting an orphanage near east of the capital Port-au-Prince. There are 12 adults and five children in the group of 17 U.S. citizens and one Canadian, including an 8-month-old.

Three days after the abduction, the gang demanded $1 million per person in ransom money. Then two days later, the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang released a video saying he will kill them if he doesn’t get what he is demanding.

On Nov. 21, the religious organization announced that the gang had released the first two hostages.

The Associated Press
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Matthew Rand is the Morning Edition host for 89.7 NPR News. Rand served as an interim producer during the pandemic for WOSU’s All Sides daily talk show.