The 400 Mawozo gang snatched the group in Ganthier, east of the capital of Port-au-Prince, Haitian police inspector Frantz Champagne told The Associated Press (AP) news agency on Sunday.
The gang, whose name roughly translates to 400 “inexperienced men,” controls the Croix-des-Bouquets area that includes Ganthier, where they carry out kidnappings and carjackings and extort business owners, according to authorities.
Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries said the kidnapped group consisted of 16 US citizens and one Canadian national and included seven women and five men as well as the children. They were in a bus on their way to visit an orphanage when they were abducted, it added.
“We are seeking God’s direction for a resolution, and authorities are seeking ways to help,” the organisation said in a statement.
Haiti has seen a spike in kidnappings following the killing of President Jovenel Moise in July as armed gangs take advantage of spreading insecurity and a political crisis aggravated by Moise’s assassination.
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