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Three more American missionaries were released Sunday by the Haitian gang that abducted them in October, but 12 members are still being held for ransom.
The Associated Press reported that Christian Aid Ministries released a statement Monday that three of the missionaries who were being held hostage in Haiti have been released and are "safe and seem to be in good spirits."
The notorious Haitian 400 Mawozo gang kidnapped a group of 17 Americans and Canadian missionaries, including children, as they were returning from a trip to an orphanage in the capital of Port-au-Prince in October. They demanded $1 million for each person taken.
Christian Aid Ministries announced on November 21 that the gang released the first two hostages.
The missionary group contained seven women, five men and five children including a 3-, 6-, 14- and 15-year-old, plus an 8-month-old at the time, Newsweek reported.
The gang is also responsible for the abduction of a Haitian priest, the Rev. Jean-Nicaisse Milien, and nine others in April. They made the same ransom demands as the missionaries, $1 million per person to be released.
Eventually, Milien and his group were released after an undisclosed ransom was paid.
For more reporting from the Associated Press see below.
The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang has threatened to kill the American and Canadian hostages unless his demands are met. It wasn't immediately clear if the $1 million ransom included the children in the group.
"We are thankful to God that three more hostages were released last night," said the statement from Christian Aid Ministries, an Anabaptist missions organization based in Berlin, Ohio. "As with the previous release, we are not able to provide the names of the people released, the circumstances of the release, or any other details."
The group reiterated its request for supporters to devote Monday through Wednesday as days of prayer and fasting "to intercede for those who are still being held as well as those who have been released."
The release comes amid an ongoing spike in kidnappings in the capital of Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti, which is struggling to recover from the July 7 presidential assassination, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck in mid-August and a severe fuel shortage.
On Sunday, a gang leader known as Ti Lapli posted a YouTube video warning people not to cross in upcoming days through the Martissant community, which has been the site of violent clashes between warring gangs.
"Insecurity has increased," the gang leader said. "I invite the people of Martissant to stock up on food and gasoline. The next few days will be difficult....We will not remain with our arms crossed in face of those who try to destroy us."
