Kidnapped humanitarian aid worker in Haiti released

A Czech humanitarian aid worker in Haiti and her Belgian colleague have been released after being kidnapped last week. The aid organisation Doctors without Borders for which both women work has declined to provide further details on the situation, including whether any ransom was paid, but has said that both are in good condition. The women, one of whom is a nurse, were apparently abducted last Friday in a suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince in the first kidnapping of aid workers since the earthquake of January 12. Doctors without Borders currently has six Czech and Slovak workers in Haiti dealing with health, water and sanitation issues. Czech aid organisations operating in the country have repeatedly emphasised that the situation there is secure and that they are for the most part provided military protection only when distributing aid.

Author: Jan Richter