Haitian kidnappers snatch eight Turks

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Eight Turkish citizens have been kidnapped in Haiti's capital, an official told The Associated Press on Monday.

Hugues Josue, Turkey's honorary consul in Haiti, said the group had boarded a bus in the neighboring Dominican Republic and were kidnapped late Sunday afternoon in the Croix-desBouquets neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Those kidnapped were five men and three women, he said.

Josue said he did not have any details on a potential ransom request, and no additional information was immediately available.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that a “crisis desk” had been set up in Haiti and that Turkey was following the issue closely.

“They are thought to have been kidnapped for ransom,” Cavusoglu said. “There is negative concerning the state of their health at the moment.”

A diplomat from the Dominican Republic was kidnapped in the same neighborhood earlier this month and later freed.

Last week, Haiti's National Police announced that one of the top leaders of the 400 Mawozo gang, Germine Joly, was extradited to the U.S. He faces charges involving kidnapping, smuggling and import of weapons of war.

Croix-des-Bouquets is controlled by the 400 Mawozo gang, which kidnapped 17 members of a U.S.-based missionary group in the same area last October. The gang demanded $1 million in ransom and held most of them until December.

The violence and insecurity has prompted Haitians to organize protests in recent weeks to demand safer neighborhoods.