Attack on kidnappers goes into second week with
little progress
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Sept 23
(AFP) - A major military assault on Muslim kidnappers in the southern Philippines entered
its second week Saturday with few tangible signs of progress and thousands of civilians
forced to flee their homes.
The army predicted that the
risky ground and air assault launched September 16 would take three days to one week to
achieve its objectives -- rescuing all 19 hostages unharmed and crushing the Abu Sayyaf
which had humiliated the government for months.
"This won't last
long," said presidential spokesman Ricardo Puno at the time.
The number of hostages has
shrunk to 17 but two French television journalists who emerged from the jungles of Jolo
island Wednesday made it clear they freed themselves.
They said the assault created
the conditions for their escape and Jean-Jacques Le Garrec praised President Joseph
Estrada for his courage in taking the "very, very difficult decision."
Once back in Paris they changed
their tune and spoke out strongly against the apparently indiscriminate bombing. Manila
responded angrily, dubbing the pair "ingrates."
On Thursday troops were said to
have pinpointed the location of American hostage Jeffrey Schilling and his kidnappers and
were said to be closing in on them.
But the next day Schilling was
able to talk to his mother by phone in a conversation broadcast live by a local radio
station.
In this conversation and in an
earlier broadcast the American also strongly criticised the assault, saying it was taking
a heavy toll on civilians and endangering his own life.
There is speculation that the
bandit faction which holds Schilling may even have taken him out of Jolo.
Faction leader Abu Sabaya, who
also took part in the broadcast, hinted in a phone conversation with the radio station
that his faction was no longer in Jolo. He noted that there was no cellular phone signal
on the island.
A legislator, Asani Tamang, was
separately quoted as saying Sabaya's faction and Schilling had fled by boat.
A total of 13 Filipinos and
three Malaysians are also held. The captives have been split between different factions of
the ragtag kidnap group, who term themselves Muslim freedom fighters but seem motivated
only by ransom money.
Millions of dollars has
reportedly been paid for Westerners and Malaysians freed earlier, with the apparent tacit
approval of overseas governments.
The Abu Sayyaf responded by
seizing three more Malaysians in a copycat kidnapping September 10, causing an exasperated
Estrada to declare that "enough is enough."
There has been no confirmation
of whether all the hostages are still on the 897 sq km ((345 square mile) island and other
details of the assault are vague. Authorities have barred journalists from visiting Jolo.
According to officlal military
briefings two civilians have been killed and four wounded. Six soldiers or police have
been wounded and none killed.
Some 25 Abu Sayyaf members have
been confirmed killed and the total may be 50-60 according to intelligence reports, the
military says.
There has been no explanation
of how so many kidnappers could have been killed without a single military fatality.
Roland Madura, the second French hostage, said he never saw or heard any ground attack --
only apparently indiscriminate bombing.
At least 15,000 people have
fled their homes, either to evacuation centres in Jolo town and elsewhere on the island or
by boat to Zamboanga City on the main island of Mindanao.
Some have reported seeing dead
and wounded civilians -- one said ten were killed in a single attack. The reports have
been impossible to confirm.
On Friday evening armed forces
chief of staff General Angelo Reyes told journalists they would be taken on a "guided
tour" of Jolo either Sunday or Monday.
The military's new timeframe
for the costly operation remains unclear.
As early as Monday a retired
military commander in the south, Delfin Castro, warned that the one-week deadline was
"very optimistic."
Three months or more was
realistic, he said.
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