| Five
freed western hostages in Philippines await long flight home CEBU, Philippines, Aug 28 (AFP) -
Five western hostages freed by Muslim extremists after up to four months of jungle
captivity in the southern Philippines awaited a flight to Libya on Monday enroute home.
The French, German and South
African passengers were released on Sunday by their Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist captors in
Jolo island and ferried to Cebu by a military plane at dusk for them to take a special
Libyan flight to Tripoli.
The flight was scheduled to
leave late Sunday but was put off for a day to await the release of the last South African
hostage on Monday.
Once he is released, Callie
Strydom would be flown to Cebu to join the five, who include his wife Monique Strydom.
"She does not want to
leave without him," chief negotiator Roberto Aventajado said of the couple. "I
have an agreement with ambassador Rajab Azzarouq (the Libyan hostage negotiator) that we
have a designated cut-off time," he said.
The plane sent by Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam is expected to take off around 4 p.m. (0800 GMT)
Monday.
Emissaries have already left to
pick up Callie Strydom, among the seven remaining westerners from a group of 24 hostages
in the Abu Sayyaf mountain hideout in Jolo.
The South African woman, French
citizens Sonia Wendling, Maryse Burgot and Marie Moarbes and German Werner Wallert slept
Sunday at the tactical operations command of the General Benito Ebuen air base.
They awoke Monday on their
first day of freedom to a wide spread of breakfast, a rare treat after mostly eating rice
and bananas during the months in the Jolo jungles, diplomats and military officials said.
"They are being given VIP
treatment in VIP facilities," said a source with the military, which provided the
breakfast.
"The facilities are
largely for the president (Joseph Estrada) when he is in the base," the source said.
"It's like a hotel room and not barracks," he said.
But the hostages are worried
about the fate of their fellow westerners, most of them their loved ones.
"There is plenty of food
but the appetite is not there because they are thinking of their loved ones still in the
jungle," an official said.
Aside from Strydom's husband,
Wendling's boyfriend Stephane Loisy and Wallert's 27-year-old son Marc are still held
captive.
Government emissaries had to
pry away the four from their loves ones at the guerilla hideout on Sunday in an emotional
parting.
French ambassador to the
Philippines Gilles Chouraqui told AFP that everything was being done by the authorities to
accommodate the needs of the freed hostages after the ordeal they went through.
"The hostages are okay as
they appear in very good condition with doctors on standby to help them with their medical
needs," Chouraqui said.
The five were given cellular
phones to call their relatives and friends which they did most of Sunday night.
They were received on arrival
at the base Sunday night by local officials who presented them with white and red roses. A
military band was on display amid hundreds of green and white balloons against the
backdrop.
The green signified the colours
of Libya which played a key role in negotiating their freedom while the white balloons had
Filipino markings.
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