Gang kidnaps U.S. missionaries in Haiti

Gang members kidnapped as many as 17 Christian missionaries and their family members, most of them Americans, as they were leaving an orphanage in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Saturday, The New York Times and The Washington Post report. The reports cited Haitian security officials and a former field director for the group, Christian Aid Ministries.

Local officials said the missionary group, which included children, was abducted from a bus headed to the airport and another destination. Haiti has been plagued by political tension and security problems for years, but the crisis has deepened since the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Kidnappings have spiked sixfold this year.

"The mission field director and the American embassy are working to see what can be done," a voice on an audio recording from Christian Aid Ministries said, the Post reports. It added, "Pray that the gang members will come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ." The Caribbean nation now has the highest per-capita kidnapping rate in the world, according to The Washington Post.

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