| Sulu hostage crisis over, says military ZAMBOANGA CITY, (ABS-CBN) -- The
release of three Malaysians from the clutches of the Abu Sayyaf on Wednesday spelled the
end of the hostage crisis, a top military official said on Friday.
Maj. Gen. Narciso Abaya, head of the military's Task Force
Trident which is in charge of assault operations against the bandit group, said that with
the release of the three Malaysians the bandits have lost their capability to keep
pursuing soldiers at bay and to gain support from the local population.
Abaya said Afro-American Jeffrey Schilling could not be
considered a hostage as he was apparently the one who went to the Abu Sayyaf lair on his
own. Another ``hostage'' --- Filipino Rolando Ullah is rumored to have joined the group
but the rumor is still to be confirmed, Abaya said.
He said that after the release of the three Malaysians, the
peace and order situation in Sulu vastly improved, with residents now able to make trips
to and from the island, and daily routines restored.
Apart from the three Malaysians, the military was also able to
free 17 other Western and Asian hostages, including two French journalists and a group of
evangelists headed by Bro. Wilde Almeda.
Schilling is being held by the faction of Abu Sabaya and
Khadaffy Janjalani while Ullah's captors belong to the faction of Radullan Sahiron.
The miliary said Thursday that villagers intercepted radio
messages indicating that Schilling is being moved among various Abu Sayyaf hideouts in the
towns of Patikul and Panamao in Jolo.
There has been no word on Ullah's location.
President Estrada said military pressure on the Abu Sayyaf
would continue until Schilling and Ullah are recovered and until the military has
successfully crushed the group.
Task Force Trident reported that the military has killed 138
bandits, seven of whom are Abu Sayyaf commanders who were part of the group that snatched
21 mostly foreigners at Malaysia's Sipadan island last April.
Also, 299 bandits have either been captured or have
surrendered.
Aside from the resumption of trips to Sulu, communication has
been restored and business establishments are back to its normal operation.
Despite the looming freedom from strife, more evacuees have
reportedly flooded the 22 evacuation centers in Sulu.
The joint civil military center reported that as of last
Monday, a total of 101,800 residents have been displaced by the still ongoing military
operations in the war-worn province.
Only a couple of weeks ago, the number of evacuees have been
greatly reduced as residents started returning to their homes. But due to the scarcity of
food supply, civilians were forced to go back to the evacuation centers.
Destruction not only of their homes but their farmlands as
well in the midst of fierce fighting, evidently resulted to loss of livelihood for
residents.
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