 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Prison break adds to Philippines militia controversy
Manila, Philippines (UPI) Dec 14, 2009 Rebels suspected of beheading soldiers are among 31 prisoners freed in a daring escape that left two dead on the southern island of Basilan. Around 30 gunmen, believed to Muslims fighting for regional independence, used sledgehammers to smash through concrete walls of the jail. One of the dead was a guard at the jail on Basilan Island, part of the larger Mindanao Island region where militants demanding independence have been fighting government forces sporadically since the 1970s. Police believe the gunmen are members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and suspected militants from the Abu Sayyaf group. Two of the freed rebels are accused of beheading a dozen government soldiers in fighting on Basilan in 2007. The escape comes as police and 15 armed kidnappers continue their standoff in the hills above San Martin in Agusan del Sur province on the eastern side of Mindanao. The gunmen, some former government-backed militiamen and members of a feuding local clan, took around 75 people -- schoolchildren, parents, teachers and a government forestry official -- from the local school last week and marched them a couple miles into the countryside. Early negotiations resulted in the children, ages 7 to 16, being released. On the weekend the gunmen let go two adults, including Arsenio Balansag, an employee of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Media reports said Balansag was releases so he could attend his brother's funeral. Police said the 46 remaining hostages, 45 males and one female, are safe and authorities are supplying the hostages and gunmen with food and water. A report in the Philippine Star newspaper said the kidnappers, Manobo tribesmen including former members of the national government-sponsored militia Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit program, are armed with M-14 and M-16 rifles. Police said the Manobo warriors claim the government has delayed justice for the alleged murder of their tribal chief and three Manobo tribesmen by a rival clan group. Their fighting is believed to be over who controls access to logging areas, meaning they collect payment from government and private firms, often by extortion. Meanwhile, on the western side of Mindanao Island police and military units are searching for several hundred armed men, including around 100 former and current government militiamen, in the provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, as well as Cotabato City. The hunt follows the roadside slaying of more than 50 people, including 13 local journalists, earlier this month. Police and military units continue to control many areas and search for supporters and family members of Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of the town Datu Unsay. He was arrested as the chief suspect in the massacre, the worst in Philippines history. Andal was charged with 25 counts of murder in the brutal open-air killing of the staff, supporters and family members of a rival politician. They were ambushed at a makeshift roadblock while on their way to register their candidate in a forthcoming election. Andal belongs to a family that has ruled, unopposed, the southern province on Mindanao, the second-largest island in the country and with a restive Muslim majority. The massacre prompted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare martial law in the area, but this was lifted on the weekend. The latest spate of inter-clan fighting and large-scale kidnapping has highlighted the government program of helping to set up and arm local militia groups. The tactics often mean siding with the economically or politically strongest local or regional family. The military has said around 55,000 armed militiamen help their 120,000 troops maintain control in areas that continue to have strong rebel and Islamic fundamentalist groups fighting for autonomy from the federal Philippine government. The militiamen in the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit come under the Department of National Defense. They get two months of basic training and then $38 a month. But often their weapons are old, including M1 carbines. Some politicians and the media are questioning the strategy of arming such groups, saying the government loses control of them. An armed forces spokesman has confirmed that the military is studying the use of militia groups and the overall effect on rebel capabilities. Rebel groups on Mindanao have just restarted talks with the federal government to discuss a lasting cease-fire and the laying down of arms in return for more local autonomy. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links
'Peacemakers' turn on allies in endless Philippine warsShariff Aguak, Philippines (AFP) Dec 9, 2009 Filipino soldier Sergeant Hermie Quinlat had just been sent to fight communist rebels after a long campaign against Muslim separatists when he was given unexpected new orders: search and destroy your former militia allies. So Quinlat turned around and joined thousands of soldiers in the southern province of Maguindanao tasked with disarming the private army of a powerful Muslim clan which ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook