ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 26, 2013) – Unidentified gunmen on motorboats attacked a group of fishermen off Zamboanga City in southern Philippines that killed at least 9 people.
Police said one minor survived the attack, but other reports said two fishermen who were among those shot survived the carnage which occurred before midnight Wednesday near Tungawan town in the neighboring province of Zamboanga Sibugay.
Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman, said the fishermen, mostly Badjao tribesmen, were on three boats when gunmen attacked them. “Police forces were dispatched in the area to gather more information relative to the incident,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The military has confirmed the attack and said two fishermen – Loloy Ampasali, 22, and Muksi Ampasali, 16 – survived the shooting and were brought to the hospital in Zamboanga City. The bodies of the those killed have not been found.
“The perpetrators strafed the victims. We have dispatched troops and are now coordinating with the local government unit and the police to search for those still missing,” Captain Jefferson Somera, a spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.
No individual claimed responsibility for the attack and the motive is still unclear, although there were reports that the gunmen were probably pirates operating in Zamboanga Sibugay.
It was unknown what triggered the attack, but Badjao fishermen were among the peaceful tribes in southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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