Haiti ? Gunmen have released 14 Haitian children and an American missionary who were abducted in separate incidents, police said Friday.

The missionary, Phillip Snyder, was released Friday after a ransom was paid, said police Commissioner Francois Henri Doussous, head of Haiti’s anti-kidnapping unit.

The gunmen released the children and their school bus driver unharmed Thursday night.

The kidnappings came five weeks before national elections to restore democracy to Haiti, which has seen a sharp increase in abductions amid the chaos following the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.

Doussous said police did not believe the latest kidnappings were politically motivated. “This is purely criminal activity; the gangs need money,” he said.