RP govt hostage negotiator threatens to quit

RP govt hostage negotiator threatens to quit

JOLO, Philippines (AFP): The negotiator attempting to secure the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages here threatened to quit on Thursday unless government troops lifted their siege on the Muslim militants holding them.

Nur Misuari's warning came as the military announced its troops had clashed with the Abu Sayyaf rebels late Wednesday, wounding one of the group's leaders.

But Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said the military would not pull back as it had to ensure the safety of the hostages from the desperate gunmen.

"We only formed a ring and cordoned off the area (where the rebels are hiding) which is standard operating procedure," he said, adding that the military opened fire when the militants tried to break the cordon.

Misuari, a former rebel leader appointed by the Philippine government as an intermediary, told local television he would halt negotiations if the government did not stop military operations in the Talipao area of Jolo island, where the captives are being held.

Nine Malaysians, a German family of three, two French nationals, two Finnish men, a South African couple and a Lebanese woman, along with two Filipinos, were taken to Jolo from the Malaysian island resort of Sipadan off Borneo on Easter Sunday.

There was no indication on the condition of the captives after the brief clash on Wednesday, but rebel leader Mujid Susukan, the chief custodian of the hostages, was wounded in the firefight, Mercado said.

He also said the gunmen had split the hostages up into five groups to evade detection within the cordoned areas.

The latest clash was the second around the Abu Sayyaf camp since Tuesday. The earlier fighting forced the rebels to decamp to another hideout about a kilometer from their first camp, Mercado said.

The rebels claimed the gunbattle had left two foreign hostages dead, raising international concern, but the deaths could not be verified.

Local police chief Col. Candido Casimiro said the perimeter set up by the security forces was about two to three kilometers from the place where the hostages were being held.

A local radio station reported meanwhile that two white men among the hostages had escaped from their captors on Wednesday and that a search for the pair triggered the latest clash between the military and the Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Both Mercado and the governor of Sulu, Abdusakur Tan, whose area covers Jolo island, categorically denied the report by radio DZMM, which did not give a source for its information.

Philippine officials have pledged to diplomats from the governments of the captives that the military was not contemplating a rescue attempt.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in Kuala Lumpur that President Joseph Estrada had promised a visiting Malaysian delegation that his troops would not step up military action against the kidnappers.

"President Estrada gave an assurance they will give their best and won't intensify their military action," Mahathir said.

The condition of the hostages is not known but it is feared that those who are reportedly ill may have a tough time keeping pace with the rebels as they move through the jungle.

Yuda Lim, a provincial health officer who set off on a mercy mission to the Abu Sayyaf camp Thursday morning, said one hostage was severely ill and "could die" without medical attention.

Misuari warned on Thursday that the militants were better armed and far more dangerous than another Abu Sayyaf unit that had been holding up to 29 Filipino hostages, 22 of them children, on Basilan island, north of Jolo, since March 20.

At least four of those hostages were killed together with nine Abu Sayyaf gunmen and five soldiers Wednesday in a military rescue operation.

Fifteen of the captives were freed, including five who were wounded, some due to gunshots, according to the military. The fate of the other 10 was not known.