| BOUNTY MAKES MUSLIM
REBELS STRONGER Manila may
have a hard time crushing the Abu Sayyaf as it amasses nearly $10 million in exchange for
freeing some of the hostages in its custody
By LUZ BAGUIORO
PHILIPPINES CORRESPONDENT
MANILA -- The Philippine
government is waging a losing battle against the extremist Abu Sayyaf group with thousands
joining its ranks, lured by dreams of instant riches from huge ransoms.
The government may now have a
hard time crushing the extremist Abu Sayyaf group as the huge kidnap bounty it has amassed
so far enabled it to acquire arms and to beef up its ranks.
By the military's reckoning,
the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers have so far received 245 million pesos (S$9.7 million) in
exchange for the release of 11 of their hostages, including six Malaysians and two
Germans.
A dozen others are still in
their hands, including three Malaysians, five French citizens, two Finns, two Germans, two
South Africans and a Franco-Lebanese.
Armed forces chief General
Angelo Reyes -- in a briefing to the Cabinet last Monday -- said the Muslim gunmen had
spent part of the ransom money to boost their firepower and recruit fighters.
Intelligence sources said the
kidnappers have built up an inventory of at least 3,000 homemade landmines which they
would presumably use to foil any government assault on their lair.
Although the government insists
the ransom was paid by other parties, what is significant is that it no longer denies that
payments had been made.
More bounty is expected in
coming days as the governments of Libya and Lebanon seek to redeem the remaining 30
hostages held in the jungles of the southern island of Jolo.
Libya has reportedly offered to
pay US$25 million for the freedom of the remaining captives.
Awash with cash, the Abu Sayyaf
group, which the military estimated to have no more than 1,000 fighters at the beginning
of this year, has managed to lure thousands into its fold.
According to Colonel Romeo
Tolentino, commander of a military task force in Jolo, the Abu Sayyaf ranks swelled at
least ten-fold to 3,000 since the start of the hostage crisis in April and recruitment was
""ongoing''.
Military officials said prices
for arms and ammunition in the black market have gone up considerably since the Abu Sayyaf
went on a shopping binge for guns and other military hardware.
And with more money for arms
procurement than the Philippine National Police or the Philippine Navy, there is growing
scepticism that the military will be able to decimate this ragtag band of bandits once the
hostage crisis is resolved.
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