RP guerriallas have foreign links: Ramos
RP guerriallas have foreign links: Ramos
IPIL, Philippines (Reuter): President Fidel Ramos yesterday linked foreign extremist groups to Moslem guerrillas who massacred 53 people in a raid on this southern Philippines town.
"We see a definite connection between the Abu Sayyaf (and) international terrorist groups," he told a news conference after touring the fire-ravaged commercial center of Ipil town, which was attacked by a 200-man rebel band on Tuesday.
Ramos flew to Mindanao yesterday, walked past the ruins of Ipil and doled out relief cheques as he ordered the military to "go get those terrorists."
As he toured Ipil, fighting between government forces and rebels of the Abu Sayyaf group erupted for the third day running in a mountainous town about 50 km (31 miles) away from Ipil.
The military has been investigating the links between the Abu Sayyaf and extremist movements all over the world.
"It is validated by the fact that Ramzi Yousef visited Basilan twice," Police General Job Mayo said in a television interview in Manila.
Basilan is a southern island province known as a lair of the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for a wave of killings and kidnappings in Mindanao the past two years.
Yousef is facing trial in the United States as the alleged mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six people and injured about 1,000.
Local police said Yousef belonged to the same group as six Moslem guerrillas arrested in Manila last week for illegal possession of guns and explosives.
At least 53 were killed and 67 injured in the attack on Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur province, 780 km (490 miles) south of Manila, in the most serious violence for 20 years in the country's Moslem insurgency.
The military have said they killed 17 rebels in pursuit operations around Ipil after remnants of the 200-man band fled, grabbing civilians as human shields along the way. Five hostages were killed in the crossfire.
A military officer told journalists he believed nine more guerrillas were killed in fresh fighting in a mountain village yesterday.
Ramos announced aid for Ipil and other communities in Zamboanga del Sur affected by fighting.
He gave out 46 million pesos (US$1.8 million) to be used to rebuild the town and create new jobs for some 50,000 people affected by fighting.
Some of the thousands who welcomed him remained fearful. "We are afraid they will come back again. There are rumors that they will be coming back," said housewife Fe Santuyo.
One group held placards as Ramos passed. "If you cannot protect us, arm us. If you cannot arm us, pray for us," one read. "We wish to live. Ramos save us from hell," said another.