AFP file photo
The Abu Sayyaf, particularly the group in Basilan, has
apparently found fresh strength in its young recruits, military and civilian
officials said.
This theory came to the fore following claims by soldiers
wounded in the recent clashes in Mohammad Ajul town that they clashed with
bandits estimated to be as young as 15.
In interviews with some of these soldiers, the Inquirer
learned that the young Abu Sayyaf gunmen were “fearless.”
“It’s as if they do not die. They were aggressive in
attacking us,” Private First Class Mario Amancio, 27, one of the seven injured
members of the 9th Scout Ranger Company (SRC) during last week’s clashes in
Mohammad Ajul, said.
Amancio said these young bandits, some barely out of their
teens, were armed with high-powered rifles.
Private First Class Charlie Benoy, 24, also of 9th SRC, said
in his years in the army, it was his first time to encounter such “fierce
fighters.”
“I had been into a lot of clashes but this was the worst.
Maybe because the enemies were so young,” he said.
Mohammad Ajul Mayor Talib Pawaki said they learned that
Ustadz Abbas Alam, the local Abu Sayyaf leader who figured in the clashes, had
been recruiting minors from as far as this city.
“The recruitment is done through social media,” he said.
But authorities needed the cooperation of parents to prevent
their children from becoming bandits, according to Senior Supt. Angelito
Casimiro, the city police director.
Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of the Western Mindanao
Command (Westmincom), said the recruitment by the Abu Sayyaf of minors had
become a major concern for the military.
“The more they recruit young people, the more dangerous for
us because the enemies were getting more aggressive,” he said.
In Cotabato
City
Unicef country representative Lotta Sylwander said “No child
under the age of eighteen should be engaged in any form of military activity or
be involved with armed groups.”
“We are all part in the Mindanao-wide campaign for peace,
making sure that children have the chance to be strong and become a positive
force for a brighter future and non-violent life,” said Sylwander, as she led
in the distribution of campaign materials to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) and other community leaders.
Like the Abu Sayyaf, the MILF was also once accused of using
minors as fighters.
“Let us spread the message of peace by educating parents,
elders, and MILF commanders the hazards of war among minors,” said the Unicef
official of the basic rights of children being violated.
Sylwander said through manipulation, young recruits were
lured into early violence putting them at risk.
Sammy Al-Mansour, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces chief
of staff, said the rebel group has a similar campaign also and this was
intensified when MILF chair Murad Ebrahim signed a joint communiqué with then
Unicef country representative Nicholas Alipui in June 2007.
It was followed with the UN-MILF Action Plan that he signed
along with former Unicef country head Vanessa Tobin and UN representative
Jacqui Badcock in August 2009, he said.
“Yes, the BIAF is fully committed to abide to its obligation
under the international humanitarian law and international human rights law,
specifically on the convention of the rights of children as embodied in UN
Security Council Resolutions 1539 and 1612 that mandate involved parties to
prepare action plans to halt recruitment and use of children in any
military-related activities,” Al-Mansour said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/692219/fearless-minors-recruited-as-abu-sayyaf-gunmen
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