RP troops rejects talks with kidnappers despite threat
RP troops rejects talks with kidnappers despite threat
MANILA (AFP): Philippine troops Wednesday rejected talks with Moro gunmen holding a Chinese and a Filipino to ransom for US$10 million, mounting a fresh offensive despite a threat to behead the hostages.
Security forces clashed with the gang near Columbio town on Mindanao island on Tuesday, killing one of the gunmen on the same day their leader warned the military to cease the offensive or they would decapitate the captives, officials said.
"We shouldn't be negotiating with these kidnappers," said military chief of staff Gen. Diomedio Villanueva. "We cannot again place whole communities and the country hostage to the whims and desires of kidnappers."
Two Chinese hostages were shot dead while a third was rescued on Sunday as the Philippine military mounted a bloody rescue attempt that also left seven of the kidnappers dead.
The Philippine military chief assured China on Wednesday that government troops were taking precautions to ensure the safety of an abducted Chinese national and a Filipino-Chinese trader in efforts to rescue them.
Gen. Villanueva said he had instructed soldiers to make sure that the welfare of the hostages - Zhang Zhong Yi and Edward Lim - is "not unduly compromised" during a rescue operation.
"I assure everyone that the paramount consideration is the safety of the hostages," he told reporters.
Officials say the gunmen are renegade members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a separatist group holding peace talks with Manila. The MILF has disowned the kidnappers.
China has expressed deep concern to the Philippine authorities and demanded an explanation for the killings of Xue Xin and Zhang Zhongqiang, subcontractors in a Japan-funded $2.7 billion irrigation project in the area.
Kidnap leader Abu Hamsa said Tuesday his group "will negotiate with the families of our hostages if the military will cease operations," but warned the captives would be beheaded if the military mounted another rescue attempt.
The gunmen are holding Zhang's brother, Zhang Zhongyi, and a Filipino businessman, Edwin Lim.
Villanueva repeated the government's policy of refusing to pay ransoms. The kidnappers have sought $10 million for all five captives.
Regional army spokesman Major Julieto Ando said the hunt for the kidnappers was continuing despite the threat.
"We have enough troops to rescue the captives and neutralize the kidnappers," Ando said.
Philippine Vice President and Foreign Secretary Teofisto Guingona has ordered an inquiry into the deaths of the two slain hostages.
Villanueva said that according to military reports the kidnappers opened fire on the hostages even before the gunbattle with the military broke out.
The Philippines is also dealing with another hostage crisis involving two Americans and 16 Filipinos in the southern island of Basilan.