No Mindanao ethnic cleansing - Palace
THE government
denied yesterday charges that the military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf has turned
into an ethnic cleansing exercise against Muslims in Mindanao, as four more terrorists
surrendered to Armed Forces officials.
“Our
offensive is continuing and they are running out of places to hide,” Southern Command
head and new Army chief, Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, said.
He said the latest
surrenders on Jolo island bring to 38 the number of terrorists who have given up to the
AFP.
More guerrillas
were expected to come down from their mountain hideouts, he said.
Despite the
success of the military offensive, with 129 rebels killed and 83 captured in the
month-long Army pursuit, the government still considers the Abu Sayyaf a “major
threat and concern,” Villanueva said.
The captured list
includes 36 suspects—including women and minors—arrested by soldiers during a
raid on a rebel hideout on Friday, an AFP report said.
The military has
also seized several Hammer armoured vehicles, speedboats, night vision equipment and
firearms and ammunition from the guerrillas.
The rebels have
held American national Jeffrey Edward Schilling for nearly seven weeks and three Malaysian
nationals for five weeks.
They are also
holding Filipino diver Roland Ullah, who was among a group of 21 mostly foreign hostages
whom the rebels abducted from a Malaysian dive spot in April. The other 20 in that group
have been released.
Foreign Affairs
Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. said the government’s determined bid to crush the
extremist group should not be construed as an attack against Muslims.
“I would like
to underline that this whole operation in Sulu is not at all related to Muslim Filipinos,”
Siazon stressed.
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