PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – At least seven suspected kidnappers were shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire with members of the Haitian National Police (PNH) after they abducted a 60-year-old person at Delmas 33, near the citrons market on Monday.

The authorities said that the members of the PNH’s Intervention Corps for Maintenance of Order (CIMO) were able to foil the kidnapping when they encountered the abductors and engaged in an exchange of gunfire.

PNH spokesman, Divisional Inspector Gary Desrosiers, said that seven of the kidnappers were killed with two of them dressed in the uniforms of the CIMO.

The PNH said the 60-year-old resident of the Vivy Mitchel neighbourhood had been abducted while leaving his home. He was later released by the police.

The police said they have since seized two vehicles and several firearms.

“What happened …is a signal showing the capacity of the police to track down bandits and guarantee the safety of the population,” said Lionel Lazarre, coordinator of the National Union of Haitian Police Officers (SYNAPOHA).

The United Nations Expert on Human Rights in Haiti, William O’Neill, ended a visit to Haiti last week and expressed alarm at the “worrying” situation in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country.

“Murders, injuries and kidnappings are the daily prerogatives of the population. Sexual violence against women and girls remains endemic and no progress regarding access to services and justice for survivors has been recorded since my last visit,” he told a news conference.

Last month, the United Nations Security Council was told that the security situation continues to deteriorate in Haiti as gang violence grows, and elections are crucial for the sustainable rule of law.