ABC: Four Hostages Released Unharmed in Haiti
Post
Four Hostages Released Unharmed in Haiti
Kidnappers in Haiti Free Three French Citizens, Haitian; Hostages Unharmed
Stevenson Jacobs Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Jan 28, 2006 — Three French citizens and a Haitian who were kidnapped near a volatile slum outside of the capital have been released unharmed, a French official said Saturday.
Two hostages were released Friday afternoon and two were freed Friday evening, said Eric Bosc, a spokesman for the French Embassy in Port-au-Prince. They were taken to the French Embassy after their release, he said.
The four, including a French priest and a nun believed to be in her 80s, were abducted Wednesday on a road running between Haiti's international airport and Cite Soleil, a slum on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince used as a base by heavily armed gangs. U.N. officials have said another may have duel French-Haitian citizenship.
The kidnappers initially demanded $500,000 for the hostages' release, but the four were apparently freed without a ransom being paid, Bosc said.
An anti-kidnapping squad made up of U.N. civilian police and Haitian authorities had been working to win the hostages' release, but it was unclear if they were freed as a result of negotiations. Haitian police and U.N. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bosc said the hostages were held in Cite Soleil and were not harmed during the ordeal.
A wave of kidnappings has plagued the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, where criminal gangs have flourished in the aftermath of the rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.
Last month, there were 162 reported kidnap cases in Haiti, compared to 37 so far in January, the U.N. reported. The actual number is probably much higher because victims' families often prefer to negotiate with kidnappers rather than notify police.
The abductions highlighted Haiti's shaky security ahead of Feb. 7 elections, which have been repeatedly postponed due to poor organization and violence. With elections approaching, 9,000 U.N. soldiers and police have increasingly tried to gain control of Cite Soleil, home to 200,000 people living in squalor and a stronghold of armed gangs allegedly linked to Aristide.
Kidnappers in Haiti Free Three French Citizens, Haitian; Hostages Unharmed
Stevenson Jacobs Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Jan 28, 2006 — Three French citizens and a Haitian who were kidnapped near a volatile slum outside of the capital have been released unharmed, a French official said Saturday.
Two hostages were released Friday afternoon and two were freed Friday evening, said Eric Bosc, a spokesman for the French Embassy in Port-au-Prince. They were taken to the French Embassy after their release, he said.
The four, including a French priest and a nun believed to be in her 80s, were abducted Wednesday on a road running between Haiti's international airport and Cite Soleil, a slum on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince used as a base by heavily armed gangs. U.N. officials have said another may have duel French-Haitian citizenship.
The kidnappers initially demanded $500,000 for the hostages' release, but the four were apparently freed without a ransom being paid, Bosc said.
An anti-kidnapping squad made up of U.N. civilian police and Haitian authorities had been working to win the hostages' release, but it was unclear if they were freed as a result of negotiations. Haitian police and U.N. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bosc said the hostages were held in Cite Soleil and were not harmed during the ordeal.
A wave of kidnappings has plagued the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, where criminal gangs have flourished in the aftermath of the rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.
Last month, there were 162 reported kidnap cases in Haiti, compared to 37 so far in January, the U.N. reported. The actual number is probably much higher because victims' families often prefer to negotiate with kidnappers rather than notify police.
The abductions highlighted Haiti's shaky security ahead of Feb. 7 elections, which have been repeatedly postponed due to poor organization and violence. With elections approaching, 9,000 U.N. soldiers and police have increasingly tried to gain control of Cite Soleil, home to 200,000 people living in squalor and a stronghold of armed gangs allegedly linked to Aristide.
Home