Six Catholic nuns were released from captivity in Haiti on Thursday after almost a week of being held in captivity.
The religious sisters were first taken hostage on Friday after gunmen hijacked the bus they were on in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
“The archdiocese of Port-au-Prince thanks the Lord for the liberation of the six religious sisters and the others who were kidnapped on Jan. 19,” Archbishop Max Leroy Mesidor announced. “This traumatizing event has, once more, tested our faith, but it remains unbreakable.”
The kidnapping comes amid a wave of violence across Haiti following the assassination of the nation’s president, Jovenel Moïse, in 2021.
The nation’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, previously requested the issuance of an international force to aid in restoring order, with his pleas only recently being answered by the nations of Jamaica, Belize, Chad, Senegal, Burundi, and Kenya, who is set to lead the deployment.
However, Kenya’s High Court blocked the deployment on the grounds that it may be unconstitutional before announcing the court would be issuing a final ruling on January 26th.
