A Canadian missionary kidnapped in Haiti during an upsurge in gang violence has been released.
Ed Hughes (72) was abducted from his home north of Port-au-Prince on June 18th. His captors threatened to kill him unless they received $45,000.
Nelson Ryman, who runs an orphanage in Haiti with Mr Hughes, said the missionary was released Saturday night on a rural road after the kidnappers received a ransom raised by his friends and colleagues.
Ryman said the ransom was less than $10,000 but would not give the exact amount. Police and UN officials worked through a Haitian mediator to secure Mr Hughes's release.
"He called me in the morning and was extremely disoriented," Mr Ryman said from his home in Florida. "A bit later I talked to him again and he said he plans to return to his children in the orphanage."
A surge in gang violence has led UN troops to increase patrols and checkpoints in the volatile Haitian capital, a commander with the Brazilian-led peacekeeping mission said yesterday.
He blamed gangs loyal to former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide for the increase in crime.