(Reuters) – A group of people including at least eight Turkish missionaries has been kidnapped in Haiti after traveling by bus from the Dominican Republic, according to Haitian and Dominican media, amid a wave of gang violence in Haiti.
The abduction took place on Sunday afternoon near Croix-des-Bouquets, where a group of missionaries from the United States and Canada were kidnapped last year, according to online news site Haiti24.
Haitian passengers and a Dominican driver were also onboard the bus, Dominican Republic newspaper Listin Diario reported.
A spokesman for the Haitian National Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Dominican diplomat was released last week after being kidnapped while on his way toward the Dominican border.
Gangs have become increasingly powerful since assassination last year of President Jovenel Moise.
At least 75 people have been killed as a result of turf wars that broke out two weeks ago between gangs near the capital Port-au-Prince, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti said on Friday.
