103 Muslim kidnappers slain, hostages still
alive: Philippines
JOLO, Philippines, Sept 25
(AFP) - The Philippine military claimed Monday to have killed 103 Muslim guerrillas in a
massive hostage rescue bid and stressed that the 17 captives were all still alive.
The statements were made by the
head of the operation, Brigadier-General Narciso Abaya, during the first
officially-sanctioned media visit to the southern Jolo island.
The remaining hostages are an
American, three Malaysians and 13 Filipinos.
Abaya said the rescue
operation, which went into its 10th day Monday, had been "slow" because the Abu
Sayyaf kidnapping group "enjoys mass-based support."
"This is a very difficult
operation," he said, comparing the search for the hostages to looking for the
"proverbial needle in the haystack."
Defense Secretary Orlando
Mercado said separately that the operation "should not take another week,"
adding that poor weather was a stumbling block.
But Abaya said the military
believes the Muslim extremist force's core group of about 400 fighters "is still
intact" because "they just keep on running, they don't want to fight."
"We have a very elusive
target, he said. "They know the terrain bettter than the military."
The estimate of 103 Abu Sayyaf
fatalities is based on military intelligence and includes an "actual body count"
of about 51, he added.
"As far as reports are
concerned, all of the hostages are alive and they are in Jolo," Abaya said, amid
reports that some of them might have been taken away by rebels who managed to penetrate a
naval blockade around Jolo.
President Joseph Estrada
ordered more than 4,000 soldiers and police to Jolo on September 16 to end a humiliating
five-month hostage crisis.
The crisis began on April 23
with a cross-border abduction of 21 people, mostly foreigners, from the Sipadan resort in
neighbouring Malaysia.
All except one of them has been
freed but the Abu Sayyaf continued taking new hostages, including journalists covering the
crisis.
Saying enough is enough,
Estrada ordered the military blitz after the Abu Sayyaf conducted another cross-border
abduction of Malaysian hostages on September 10.
The troops were to rescue the
hostages and "destroy" the Abu Sayyaf within a week after the operation was
launched on September 16. Two French journalists among the hostages managed to flee from
the Abu Sayyaf last week.
Estrada said Monday that
"our soldiers are doing all they can," but "because of unforseen
circumstances like heavy rain, the operation has been hampered."
Security forces have detained
18 suspected Abu Sayyaf members and confiscated 207 firearms plus communication equipment,
explosives and rifle parts, Abaya said.
He put government casualties at
one soldier dead and six wounded in 26 clashes so far, all government-initiated.
He placed the civilian
casualties at four wounded. "As far as the military is concerned, no civilian deaths
have been reported."
The general added: "All of
these Abu Sayyaf casualties were recovered during firefights, so definitely they are Abu
Sayyaf members."
He said 36,313 civilians have
fled their homes in five towns of Jolo island, but that only 14,099 of them are receiving
relief aid.
"The problem is that there
is a shortage of medicines with the number of ecacuees expected to rise," said
provincial health officer Nelsa Amin.
She told reporters government
assistance has not reached many areas because "every time we ask permission from the
military, the military refuses. They only give (relief workers) limited time passes of two
days."
Abaya said one senior Abu
Sayyaf leader, Radulan Sajiron has been wounded.
He also said that the military
had been deployed in an island near Jolo which he did not name.
"It's not just a matter of
seizing terrain, not a matter of seizing a camp. This is going after a group which is very
mobile and trying to rescue hostages who are also mobile," the general said. "We
have a lot of factors going against our favor."
He said it was like a
"one-sided boxing match wherein the enemy does not want to fight back."
However, "we have reason
to say we are closing in and that their area is getting smaller and smaller. They are also
tired and if we keep pushing the operation, hopefully we may rescue" the hostages.
Back to Sipadan/Pandanan Hostages News
Back
to This Week's Borneo News |
