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Philippine troops chasing guerrillas
By Compiled from Times wires © St. Petersburg Times, published September 18, 2000 MANILA, Philippines -- Government troops chased separatist Muslim guerrillas deep into the mountainous interior of their southern island stronghold Sunday, but failed to rescue any of their 19 foreign and Philippine hostages, who were all reported to be alive, including an American. "All the hostages, based on reports, are alive," Gen. Angelo Reyes, chief of the Philippine armed forces, told reporters Sunday at a military base in Zamboanga on Mindanao Island. "There have been no reports from the field to indicate that any have been casualties." Military authorities said six Abu Sayyaf guerrillas had been killed and another 20 arrested in the two days of attacks ordered by President Joseph Estrada, who had been criticized for allowing the rebels to take hostages for months and negotiate large ransoms for their release. Key rebel leaders -- including Ghalib Andang, the Abu Sayyaf chieftain known as Commander Robot -- remained at large. Reyes said there were six engagements between rebel fighters and some of the more than 4,000 government troops involved in the assault. He said the Abu Sayyaf fighters were in "escape mode" and returned fire only to cover their retreat. The military took over two rebel camps, including one where two French television journalists had been held, but found no hostages. Mortars pounded rebel positions in the hills of Jolo Island as attack planes and helicopter gunships fired missiles. Reyes said there were no fatalities on the government side, although four soldiers were wounded; he said he was aware of no civilian casualties. Residents of Jolo 600 miles south of Manila, said dozens of civilians were injured, many seriously. Estrada flew to Zamboanga Sunday afternoon to meet with Reyes and other top military officials. In a brief news conference there, the president apologized that he was "not free to tell you about the military operations today," but promised a full account "later when the Abu Sayyaf is put in its place." On the eve of the government strike, various factions of Abu Sayyaf, who said they are seeking an independent Islamic state in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines, were holding 13 Filipinos, three Malaysians, the two French television journalists and one American, Jeffrey Schilling, 24, of Oakland, Calif. The military said it did not believe an unconfirmed report that Schilling was killed during an escape attempt Friday. "There is a strong possibility he is still alive," Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said. Officials from the United States, France and Malaysia said they advised against a raid on Jolo, citing concern about the hostages' safety. But Estrada was under considerable pressure from voters who had grown increasingly frustrated with his inability to stop the rash of abductions by the Muslim group, which began last spring and included the kidnapping of more than 20 foreign tourists from a diving resort in Malaysia. The Abu Sayyaf have reportedly received $15-million from Libya and Malaysia for captives freed earlier. Analysts say Estrada's new, get-tough tactics are certain to boost his shaky public approval ratings -- at least in the short run -- even if the assault in Jolo fails to eradicate the Muslim guerrillas or obtain the hostages' release. At the close of his news conference, Estrada, who was one of the Philippines' most popular movie stars before becoming president, engaged in a bit of political theater by placing a telephone call to Gen. Narciso Abaya, the popular West Point-educated officer who is in charge of anti-terrorist operations in Jolo. With the television cameras rolling, Estrada repeated the general's assessment that operations on the island could be wrapped up in "three days to one week." "Okay, good," he said. "We are banking on you, General Abaya." But Abaya confronts a daunting challenge. The Philippine military is one of the most poorly equipped in Asia. U.S. military officials said it lacks the capacity to track guerrillas across terrain as densely forested as that of Jolo Island. The government's lead negotiator, Robert Aventajado, said Manila rejected an appeal from Andang, the rebel leader, shortly after the assault began to resume negotiations. But Mercado said that even as military operations on Jolo proceeded, the government remained open to further discussions about conditions for the hostages' safe return. The defense secretary dismissed reports that the rebels had killed some of the hostages. "Why would you kill your insurance?" he asked.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
