RP military bombs southern islands to flush out rebels
RP military bombs southern islands to flush out rebels
JOLO, Philippines (AFP): The Philippine military resorted to aerial bombardment of islands surrounding Jolo Friday as they continued efforts to flush out Muslim rebels holding five hostages, official sources said.
The assault, which is about to enter its fourth week, has demoralized many of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group but the leaders of the kidnapping gang have so far eluded the efforts of 5,000 soldiers and troops to hunt them down.
Artillery blasted suspected hiding places of the Abu Sayyaf group on southern Jolo island before dawn Friday as soldiers searched the towns of Panamao, Luuk, Maimbung and Talipao for any signs of the kidnappers or their captives -- an American, three Malaysians and a Filipino.
Military and local government sources said the airforce planes bombed the nearby islands of Pandami and Sitangkai following reports that Abu Sayyaf members had taken refuge there to escape the manhunt on Jolo.
Regional military spokesman, Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias said that "many rebels are planning to surrender to us because of the extreme pressure of the military operation."
However those wishing to surrender were mostly young recruits and not the leaders, he added.
Maj. Angelo Gepilano, spokesman of the task force launching the assault, said the Abu Sayyaf's main leaders were still on Jolo island, although a few members may have slipped out.
He added that troops were combing through all possible rebel hideouts, leaving them with fewer places to hide.
"They are really hard-up, running out of supplies now as they are trying to elude pursuing forces," he said.
The last clash between the Abu Sayyaf and the military took place late Thursday but no one was killed as the guerrillas swiftly fled, he added.
Gepilano would not comment on the reported bombing of the surrounding islands.
Provincial police chief Superintendent Candido Casimiro said he had placed drugstores in Jolo under tight surveillance to ensure the Abu Sayyaf could not buy medicine for their wounded members.
The kidnappers had split up into different groups and were reportedly holding the captives in different areas.
In Manila, chief government spokesman Press Secretary Ricardo Puno said that "most of the local communities have begun to provide information to our soldiers so that they continue to tighten the noose."
A military intelligence source said they believe senior Abu Sayyaf leaders Mujib Susukan and Galib Andang, alias "Commander Robot," were still hiding in the thickly-forested mountains of Talipao, possibly in a cave.
The military earlier imposed a tight naval cordon around Jolo to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from fleeing with their captives, possibly to the Tawi-Tawi island group, the southernmost tip of the Philippines where they could easily jump off to Malaysia.
Gepilano said that so far 129 rebels had been killed and 53 captured in the operations. Eight government soldiers had been killed.
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes because of the fighting and many residents are still afraid to return home because of the presence of soldiers.
President Joseph Estrada ordered the assault to rescue the remaining captives of a five-month Abu Sayyaf kidnapping spree, which had scared off foreign investors from the Philippines, ravaged the Malaysian tourism industry and earned the gunmen millions of dollars in ransoms.
The assault forced the gunmen on Monday to ditch 12 Filipino Christian evangelists who were deemed to be hindering their flight. Two French captives also escaped on Sept. 19 during the assault.
The rescued evangelists retracted a previous accusation against Roberto Aventajado, the former government negotiator with the Abu Sayyaf, that he had pocketed some of the ransom money paid to the kidnappers.
The evangelists apologized to Aventajado, conceding that they had no first-hand knowledge of any wrongdoing and that their earlier statements about him were based on "hearsay."