Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Philippine military vows to crush Abu Sayyaf militant group this year

From Xinhua (Aug 26, 2019): Philippine military vows to crush Abu Sayyaf militant group this year

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vowed on Monday to crush the Abu Sayyaf group by December this year, saying it is about time to wipe out the armed group which has been sowing terror in the southern Philippines for decades.

Army Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the AFP's Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City, said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte "has issued an order to finish the Abu Sayyaf problem" before the end of 2019.

Sobejana said a "substantial" number of troops, and air and naval assets have been deployed in Sulu over the past months to crush the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that carried out deadly bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings in the southern Philippines.

However, Sobejana did not give the exact figures of the troops and assets.

The Abu Sayyaf terrorist group bases in the waters off the west coast of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines, but has also conducted cross-border operations into eastern Malaysia.

The group, which has been terrorizing the Philippine southern region since the 1990s, preys on foreign tourists, businessmen and fishermen not only from the Philippines but also from Indonesia and Malaysia and hide them in Philippine jungles or remote islands.

To fight the elusive Abu Sayyaf terrorists, Sobejana said the troops are collaborating with local government officials and residents to hasten the defeat of the Abu Sayyaf.

"We're getting (the people's) support. Hopefully, before the end of the year, we're going to wipe them out or we can solve the Abu Sayyaf problem which started in 1990," he added.

On Aug. 8, Duterte ordered the Philippine National Police to recruit and train up to 10,000 elite special action forces to fight the growing threat of Islamic State-affiliated terror groups that are trying to establish a front in the Philippines.

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