BASILAN PROVINCE(Mindanao Examiner / July 15, 2013) – Moro National Liberation Front gunmen have freed Monday all their 8 hostages following the release of three abducted daughters of the gang’s leaders in Basilan province in southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said MNLF leader Hassan Duwalay alias Commander Addang released the hostages in Tipo-Tipo town a day after his daughters Umma, Kelma and Pubu Duwalay – who had been abducted also on July 9 in Lamitan City in Basilan province – were freed.
“The release of the hostages is the result of joint efforts between the military and other stakeholders and we are glad it’s all over and peacefully settled,” Brig. Gen. Felicito Virgilio Trinidad, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The former rebels abducted a dozen people in a raid on the village of Bohe Baca on July 11. Among those taken by the raiders were 7 minors, including an infant, who were earlier freed following a negotiation led by Lieutenant Colonel Paolo Perez, commander of the 18th Infantry Battalion, and village officials.
Capt. Jefferson Somera, a regional army spokesman, said the abductions were triggered by a long family feud that stemmed from a land conflict. (Mindanao Examiner)
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