ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 12, 2013) – Former Moro rebels abducted a dozen people in a raid on a remote village in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said Friday.
Officials said the Moro National Liberation Front gunmen, numbering about 50, stormed the village of Bohe Baca in Tipo-Tipo town on Thursday afternoon and seized the villagers.
Among those taken by the raiders were 7 minors, including an infant.
Colonel Rodrigo Gregorio, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, identified the hostages as Faija Banua, 44; Satra Banua, 13; Haide Banua, 9; Dalma Ambihal, 50; Alsaima Buddiman, 15; Binbin Banua, 9; Hapsa Ambihal, 28; Kalipa Ambihal, 22; Fathma Buddiman, 5 months old; Pasri Ambihal, 2; Haipa Ambihal, 5; and a still unidentified villager.
He said four of the hostages – Alsaima Buddiman, Fathma Buddiman, Dalma Ambihal, and a still unidentified villager – were already freed by gunmen following a negotiation led by Lieutenant Colonel Paolo Perez, commander of the 18th Infantry Battalion, and village officials.
“As of press time, negotiations for the safe release of the remaining hostages are still ongoing,” Gregorio said.
The gunmen were headed by MNLF leader Hassan Duwalay, alias Commander Addang, whose three daughters – Umma, Kelma and Pubu Duwalay – had been abducted also on July 9 in Lamitan City in Basilan province.
It was not immediately known whether those being held by former rebels had anything to do with the disappearance of the Duwalay sisters, whose fate remains unknown.
The military suspects the abduction of the villagers was connected to a long family feud.
Just recently, some 500 MNLF members, many of them armed with rockets and automatic weapons, marched unannounced through Lamitan City, sending residents into panic. The show of force caught local authorities by surprise.
MNLF leaders said the march was part of their peace consultation in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. The show of force was unprecedented in recent decades.
The parade sent soldiers and policemen scampering for cover and defensive positions as security forces hurriedly put up check points and road blocks to ensure control of the tense situation.
But despite the layers of road blocks, the former rebels insisted on marching through them and further caused tension in Lamitan. Security commanders, in an effort to avert any confrontation, allowed the MNLF members to pass through.
Two army armoured personnel carriers were also sent to the city as back up to troops securing Lamitan. Army officials have met with the leader of the MNLF, Nurin Ismael, to convince his group to peacefully leave the city because the presence of former rebels has caused panic to the locals.
Officials said Ismael’s group has apologized to the authorities for the uncoordinated march and eventually returned to their bases. (Mindanao Examiner)
20