Artillery fire from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on known positions of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on Sulu island have forced the bandits to constantly move their four hostages who they snatched from a resort in Samal Island, Davao del Norte last September 21.
A source from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Western Mindanao said combined bands of the ASG, led by Al-Habsi Misaya, and the three foreign and one Filipino captives were first sighted at the foot of Mount Bud Daho a few days after they landed on September 25 on the shores of Barangay Silangkan, Parang, Sulu.
Mount Bud Daho is located on the border of Patikul and Talipao. The mountain is about eight kilometers from Jolo, the capital of Sulu province.
The MNLF source, who refused to be named because he was not authorized to speak, added that when the military in Sulu fired artillery at the ASG at the foot of Mount Bud Daho, they moved their hostages, including two other Malaysian captives, near Mount Taran in Indanan.
After that, he said more artillery fire forced the kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) band to move again.
“They were sighted five days ago in the borders of Patikul and Talipao after another round of government artillery fire,” the source said, adding they were sighted by some MNLF members at Mount Sinumaan Complex, where many 105 mm artillery shells landed.
He said his information showed that no one was hurt in the artillery fire.
Also with the Samal Island victims were the two Malaysians who were said to have been abducted by Misaya’s group from a resort in Sandakan, Sabah, he said.
It can be recalled that some 20 armed men snatched from the Ocean View Resort in Barangay (Village) Camudmud, Samal Island, the four hostages on the evening of September 21. The victims were Kjartan Seekingstad, the Norwegian manager of the resort; Canadian tourists John Ridsdel and Robert Hall and Maritess Flor, said to be the Filipino girl friend of Hall.
The MNLF source said that, based on the information he was getting, no ransom was being mentioned yet by the ASG bandits because they were unable to settle down in one place, long enough to contact the victims’ families.
“Unless they were already able to contact the hostages’ families, I think no ransom amount is being discussed yet,” he said, saying there are those who are trying to reach the ASG because of a potential ransom.
Earlier, he said farmers and other residents of communities have volunteered to be lookouts or security men, cooks, informants, and couriers for food and other supplies for the ASG because they wanted to get a share from any ransom that would be paid.
http://www.mb.com.ph/artillery-fire-has-asg-kidnap-victims-on-the-move-in-sulu/
A source from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Western Mindanao said combined bands of the ASG, led by Al-Habsi Misaya, and the three foreign and one Filipino captives were first sighted at the foot of Mount Bud Daho a few days after they landed on September 25 on the shores of Barangay Silangkan, Parang, Sulu.
The MNLF source, who refused to be named because he was not authorized to speak, added that when the military in Sulu fired artillery at the ASG at the foot of Mount Bud Daho, they moved their hostages, including two other Malaysian captives, near Mount Taran in Indanan.
“They were sighted five days ago in the borders of Patikul and Talipao after another round of government artillery fire,” the source said, adding they were sighted by some MNLF members at Mount Sinumaan Complex, where many 105 mm artillery shells landed.
Also with the Samal Island victims were the two Malaysians who were said to have been abducted by Misaya’s group from a resort in Sandakan, Sabah, he said.
The MNLF source said that, based on the information he was getting, no ransom was being mentioned yet by the ASG bandits because they were unable to settle down in one place, long enough to contact the victims’ families.
Earlier, he said farmers and other residents of communities have volunteered to be lookouts or security men, cooks, informants, and couriers for food and other supplies for the ASG because they wanted to get a share from any ransom that would be paid.
http://www.mb.com.ph/artillery-fire-has-asg-kidnap-victims-on-the-move-in-sulu/
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