After being kidnapped in the Haitian capital almost a week ago, six Roman Catholic nuns were released Wednesday along with two more hostages, according to statements by the archbishop of Port-au-Prince.
Armed gunmen hijacked a bus in the capital on January 19, taking eight hostages, including the nuns from the order of the Sisters of Saint Anne.
The statement from Archbishop Max Leroy Mesidor following the hostage release did not clarify whether a ransom was paid or who was responsible for the kidnapping, but it did say, "This traumatizing event has, once more, tested our faith, but it remains unbreakable.”
The kidnapping prompted religious leaders to issue a letter criticizing the Haitian government for its lack of response to an increase in gang-related violence. Separately, Pope Francis on Sunday called for the nuns and other hostages to be released.
The United Nations estimates that the violence in the Caribbean nation has led to more than 4,700 killings and nearly 2,500 kidnappings in the past year. A U.N. report in October said the gangs run schools, clinics and foundations in place of an increasingly absent government, even as their criminal rackets help gang leaders amass funds and afford luxury homes with swimming pools in the hemisphere's poorest country.
The U.N. secretary-general's special representative for Haiti Thursday discussed the security situation during a meeting of the Security Council.
Maria Isabel Salvador said the Caribbean nation remains plagued by the “mounting scale of violence due to an unprecedented surge in kidnappings, rapes and other crimes committed by armed gangs that increasingly affect the livelihoods of people and undermine humanitarian activities.” She urged the council to support efforts to stabilize the country.
Meanwhile, a court hearing was scheduled for Thursday in Kenya to determine the legality of the African nation heading a U.N.-approved mission to Haiti to assist the country's struggling police force in combating gangs. Agence France-Presse reports a decision is expected by Friday.
Haiti has not elected a new leader since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021. Police remain overwhelmed and underfunded, with fewer than 10,000 active officers at a time in a country of more than 11 million people.
Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
