Sayyaf Kidnaps 11 more
Sino fishermen are latest
victims
By Faber Concepcion
ZAMBOANGA
CITY—While hunkering down in slow-moving release talks for their 24 hostages, Abu
Sayyaf rebels seized last Aug. 14 and 17 the crew of two different fishing vessels, a
mayor of Sulu said yesterday.
The extremist
rebels’ captives include five Chinese and six Taiwanese fishermen, he said, adding
that the hostages were being held in one island municipality off the Jolo mainland.
Abu Sayyaf
members had wanted to bring the new captives to Sulu, where rebels are holding the 12
remaining hostages seized from Sipadan island, Malaysia, 12 Filipino evangelists and three
French journalists, the mayor said.
Their plans were
thwarted, however, by the heavy military blockade in the area, he added.
Military and
police officials said they still have to confirm the report but did not discount the
possibility of a new abduction.
Fast craft
The rebels
kidnapped the new group by using a new fast craft purchased with some of the ransom paid
for three Malaysian hostages freed earlier, according to the source.
The official,
quoting local sources, said the abduction took place in waters straddling the boundaries
of the Philippines and Malaysia.
There has been no
alarm yet, the source said, because Chinese and Taiwanese crew usually stay on the high
seas for months at a stretch.
The bandits were
banking on negotiating with the separate crew employers towards the end of the current
Sulu hostage crisis.
New captives
The islet where
the new captives are being held is only a few nautical miles from where the Sipadan
hostages were first brought by their captors before being transferred to Patikul, Sulu.
Basilan Gov. Wahab
Akbar vowed to block any rebel landing in his territory.
“I will deny
them sanctuary; that’s definite,” Akbar stressed.
The governor said
he had already warned President Estrada of the Abu Sayyaf’s plan to kidnap a new
batch of hostages just before the release of the Sipadan group.
“The group is
only waiting for the Sipadan hostages to be released before announcing the new
kidnapping,” he added.
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