RP says hostages alive and well, rebels on the run

RP says hostages alive and well, rebels on the run

JOLO, Philippines (Agencies): The Abu Sayyaf rebels were
fleeing under military assault on a southern island on Sunday and
all their 19 hostages were alive and well, the Philippine
government said.

Six Abu Sayyaf rebels had been killed and 20 suspected
guerrillas captured on the island, Jolo, armed forces chief Gen.
Angelo Reyes said. Four government troops had been wounded, three
on Saturday, one on Sunday.

"All the hostages, based on reports, are alive," he told
reporters in southern Zamboanga City after briefing President
Joseph Estrada and members of his cabinet. "There have been no
reports from the field to indicate that any have been
casualties."

Thirteen Filipinos, three Malaysians, two French television
journalists and an American are being held on Jolo, 960 km (600
miles) south of Manila in a crisis that has embarrassed the
government for almost five months.

In Paris, the French foreign ministry said it had received no
information about the well-being of the two French hostages.
The Philippines has applauded Estrada's decision to order the
attack but analysts say any surge in his waning popularity could
be short lived no matter what the outcome.

In Kuala Lumpur, families of the three Malaysian hostages have
appealed to the Philippines to halt its military assault for
their rescue.

N. Pakkialaksmi, the wife of resort manager Mohamad Noh
Sulaiman, and Nancy Nair, the wife of divemaster Joseph
Jongkinoh, said they feared their husbands would be caught in the
crossfire or hurt by Abu Sayyaf rebels.

"We are demanding that the Philippine army withdraw its
aggressive actions and allow the negotiated release of the
hostages," they said in a joint statement published in The Sunday
Star.

Pakkialaksmi and Nair said they would hold President Estrada
personally responsible for any injuries their husbands might
suffer as a result of the military action.

Mohamad Noh and Jongkinoh, along with building contractor Kan
Wei Chong, were taken by Abu Sayyaf rebels from the Pandanan
island off Sabah on Sept. 10 in the second such kidnapping in
less than five months.

Markets

Depressed financial markets may perk up briefly when they
reopen on Monday because the government has ended months of
vacillation on how to deal with the rebels, they said.

"We cannot discount a knee-jerk reaction in favor, but there
are a lot of lingering concerns...this is not the only problem
the government has," Astro del Castillo, head of research for A&A
Securities, said of the assault.

Reyes said there had been six "engagements" with the rebels in
which the six Abu Sayyaf rebels had been killed and 20 suspected
rebels captured. He said rebel factions holding the hostages were
in "escape mode".

Fighting could still be heard on Sunday night in Jolo and the
military upgraded security in the capital Manila.

"We are banking on you, General Abaya," Estrada was heard
telling Brig. Gen. Narciso Abaya, in charge of the Jolo
operation, by phone after he was briefed on the assault.

"...Let's kill all these Abu Sayyaf, they have given us only
embarrassment."

But despite hopes for a quick and surgical strike, Estrada
said the military operations could last for up to a week.
Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado had earlier dismissed local
reports that some of the hostages, who include six foreigners,
may have been executed or shot by the Abu Sayyaf.

"Why would you kill your insurance?" he told Reuters. "If you
kill them (hostages), you are gone. The reason you are safe is
because of the hostages."

Heavy mortar bombing of rebel positions resumed at dawn after
tapering off overnight and continued through the day, Jolo
residents said. Most of the fighting was in the hills where the
rebels hide out, about 20 km from the main town.

"We are hitting only selected targets," a military source
said. "You don't hit the main camp, because you might hit the
hostages."

Officials in Zamboanga said on Saturday that rebel chieftain
Galib Andang, also known as Commander Robot, had asked the
government to stop the bombardment and resume negotiations.