What a rat's nest the Southern Philippines is...there's more MUSLIM terror groups than you can shake a stick at and the silly Filipinos are trying to negotiate with them. Good luck with that. Isn't it kind of ironic, though? One of the so-called "peace negotiators" for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was killed in one of today's attacks. There's no word on what he was doing hob-nobbing with Abu Sayyaf.
In Basilan, Dolorfino said troops were running after the group of Abu Sayyaf leaders Furuji Indama and Nurhasan Jamiri, believed to have masterminded the kidnapping of Mendoza and Hupida, who were released last month purportedly upon payment of ransom.
He said the MILF, which has a camp in Al-Barka, might have reinforced the Abu Sayyaf bandits that led to the skirmishes.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, however, denied their involvement in the kidnappings or that they were sheltering Abu Sayyaf militants. Kabalu accused the military of attacking the MILF camp in Al-Barka.“The military operation is intended to (target) the MILF in Basilan and we will fight it to defend ourselves,” Kabalu said. Kabalu said three MILF rebels were killed and six wounded. The dead included Sattar Alih, a senior member of the rebel group’s peace negotiating panel with government.
Peace talks with the MILF were suspended following the attacks, which came after the Supreme Court blocked a deal that would have given the rebels control over an expanded autonomous region.
“This operation is part of our campaign to flush out the Abu Sayyaf which is responsible for a series of kidnappings,” Cacho said.
The Abu Sayyaf, notorious for beheading their hostages and who are on a US list of terrorist organizations with links to al-Qaeda, recently snatched seven construction workers, a 9-year-old girl and a nursing student on Basilan. Last September, the bandits snatched Mendoza and Hupida, workers of a volunteer aid group in Basilan.
They sound like a fine bunch of upstanding, young MUSLIM men, don't they? Why not give them "control of an expanded autonomous region"? Sheesh.
Comments