More violence in Mindanao

[jadegil6]

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines – Four soldiers and four rebels were killed while hundreds of residents were displaced from their homes here yesterday when members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway faction the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) , attacked five barangays in Midsayap.
About 300 Muslim rebels opposed to peace talks with the government stormed the villages and engaged government troops. The armed men reportedly took 15 hostages, including four public school teachers from the elementary school in barangay Pulumugen and 11 farmers. They were held hostage and used as human shields. All of the 15 hostages, three of them public school teachers, have all been accounted for and reunited with their families. Four soldiers, two of them from the 7th Infantry Battalion and two others from the 40th Infantry Battalion, were killed in clashes with the bandits. The rebels fled towards Maguindanao after they released the villagers.
Over 60 teachers and students of an elementary school in barangay Malingaw, Midsayap were trapped in the school building while government forces and the rebels clashed. The withdrawing rebels, numbering about 300, split into several groups and took the teachers and villagers in Sitio Mirasol in Barangay Pulumugen to be used as human shields. Two BIFF bandits were killed while four others were wounded in the firefights in an open field in Pulumuge. Pulumugen barangay chairman Efren Hachuela said the bandits attacked from two directions and fired assault rifles and 40 mm grenades at villages, sending dozens of residents running for their lives.

[angel]

some of tourist in our country scared to go to mindanao because of more violence in there.
i heard some people are evacuating for the violence.
i hope and pray one day they have a peaceful community in there!

[jadegil6]

In southern Mindanao gunmen have demanded a ransom of 500 million pesos ($11.3 million) for the release of a Chinese tourist abducted last week from a Malaysian resort off Borneo island, a Malaysian minister said Thursday.

The gunmen, believed to be Abu Sayyaf militants, kidnapped a 28-year-old Shanghai woman and a 40-year-old Filipino woman from the Singamata Reef Resort in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on April 2.

Philippine authorities believe the women were taken to the island township of Simunul in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines' southernmost province. Sabah, a popular tourist destination, is just a short boat ride from the southern Philippines, home to Muslim militants and kidnap gangs.

"The kidnapper, or kidnappers for that matter, have asked about 500 million pesos ... worth of ransom" for the Chinese tourist, Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamid said on private television station TV3.

"We have sent our team, the police and the negotiators ... to negotiate about the reduction of ransoms," he said. No ransom was asked for the Filipino woman, who was working at the resort, he said.

Zahid was not able to be reached for further comment. An aide confirmed Zahid's comments and said investigations were ongoing.

Mohammad Mentek, a senior Sabah security official, said the kidnappers have made telephone contact with the family of Gao Hua Yuan, the Chinese kidnap victim, but declined to say whether a ransom demand has been made.

A Philippine security official who monitors Muslim militant activities in the southern Philippines confirmed that a ransom demand was made.

Zahid's aide and the Philippine security official both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

In carrying out the kidnappings, seven men armed with rifles, four of them masked, arrived at the resort on a speedboat and fled with the two women, according to Malaysian police.

China's ties with Malaysia have come under stress recently because of anger among Chinese over the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner carrying 153 Chinese passengers.

The Abu Sayyaf, a militant Muslim group, has carried out seaborne kidnappings for ransom in the region before. In 2000, Abu Sayyaf gunmen snatched 21 European tourists and Malaysian and Filipino workers from Malaysia's Sipadan diving resort and brought them to the southern Philippines, where they eventually were released in exchange for large ransom payments.

In November, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants killed a Taiwanese tourist and kidnapped his wife from another Sabah resort. The woman was released a month later in the southern Philippines.

The Abu Sayyaf had links to international militant networks, including al-Qaida, but a U.S.-assisted Philippine military crackdown has weakened it considerably in recent years. The group, which is on the U.S. list of terror groups, has about 300 fighters and is now much more focused on ransom kidnappings than global jihad.

[cheryz]

more beautiful places in mindanao but theres a group of people who are destroying these tourist spots. i never wanted to go there in mindanao even i have other relatives or not in there. id rather pray for them to have peace.

[wayne208]

Thanks for this information .. I will make sure not to Visit this Island .. It is too bad that the people will not let the Tourist spend there Money here .

[jadegil6]

The eastern part of Mindanao is relatively safe for foreign tourists. If you look at a map of the island, and draw a line from Davao to Cagayan De Oro, then as a general rule, areas east of the line are safe, and areas west of the line are potentially dangerous. Many foreigners openly live in the provinces east of that line, and those who live in the western part keep a very low profile. I spent a week in Davao in 2010, and saw many foreigners there in the mall and at the airport.

[Smiley]

I have friends in both Davao and in Marmag (Bukindon Province),they seem to have no trouble at all. My foster son lives in Pagadian and while he thinks I would have little problem there he says that he would not want me to head farther south.

[jadegil6]

Your foster son lives in a dangerous area, Smiley. I don't think I would venture a visit there.
The latest news about the kidnappings:

Muslim militants have brought a Chinese tourist and a Filipino hotel receptionist to their jungle stronghold in the southern Philippines after kidnapping the women from a dive resort in eastern Malaysia early this month, security officials said Friday.
The Philippine officials said that based on numerous intelligence reports and accounts from villagers, the women were now being held by Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the predominantly Muslim province of Sulu, where the extremists have been holding several foreign and Filipino hostages for ransom.
Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped the 28-year-old Shanghai woman and 40-year-old Filipino from the Singamata Reef Resort in the Malaysian state of Sabah on April 2, then took them by motor boat to the southern Philippines. Sabah, which has many tourist resorts, is just a short boat ride from the Philippines, where many militants and kidnap gangs operate.
Philippine military officials initially reported that the kidnappers and their captives may have been taken to Simunul island in the southernmost province of Tawi Tawi. But a search in the remote region yielded nothing.
A Marine spokesman said a new search was underway by government forces in Sulu, about 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of Manila, but refused to divulge other details.
Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamid said two weeks ago that the kidnappers were demanding a ransom of 500 million pesos ($11.3 million) for the release of a Chinese tourist. No ransom was asked for the Filipino woman, he said.
Malaysian police have been coordinating with their Philippine counterparts to deal with the kidnapping, the latest the Abu Sayyaf has staged in Malaysia. In 2000, Abu Sayyaf gunmen snatched 21 European tourists and Malaysian and Filipino workers from Malaysia's Sipadan diving resort. The hostages were transported to Sulu, where they were released in exchange for huge ransom.
In November, Abu Sayyaf militants killed a Taiwanese tourist and kidnapped his wife from another Sabah resort. The woman was free a month later in Sulu.
The Abu Sayyaf had links to international militant networks, including al-Qaida, but a U.S.-backed Philippine military crackdown has weakened it considerably in recent years. The group, which is on the U.S. list of terror groups, has about 300 fighters and is now much more focused on ransom kidnappings than global jihad.

[wayne208]

Thank You Jade for Keeping Us up with the News .. That is so wrong Kidnapping People like that . I also read about the almost 250 girls kidnapped and held in Nigeria by Weirdo's . Man that is Also so Very Wrong

[jadegil6]

Regarding my earlier post about the Chinese woman and Filipina woman who were kidnapped:

A Chinese tourist and a Filipino worker have been rescued nearly two months after they were abducted from a resort off Borneo island, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said.

Najib credited their release to cooperation between Malaysian and Philippine security forces, and said no ransom was paid.

Malaysian officials earlier said the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of $11.4m for the Chinese hostage.

Gunmen, believed to be Philippine Abu Sayyaf fighters, kidnapped the 28-year-old Shanghai woman and the 40-year-old Filipino woman from the Singamata Reef Resort in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on April 2.

They were believed to have been taken to the southern Philippines.

"No ransom paid to secure their release. Success due to cooperation of Malaysia and Philippines security forces. I thank all involved," Najib tweeted.

He said authorities were working to return Gao Huayun, the Chinese woman, to her home country as soon as possible.

Two Philippine security officials who have been monitoring kidnappings in the south confirmed the two women had been released by Abu Sayyaf fighters in Parang township in the southern Philippine province of Sulu after a series of negotiations.

The two were served lunch by local police and then escorted out of Sulu on board a speedboat back to Sabah, said the officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Philippine military and police believe an Abu Sayyaf faction led by commander Alhabsi Misaya was involved in the abduction of the women, who were held in a jungle camp in Sulu's Indanan township, near Parang. Misaya's group has been blamed for other kidnappings in the poor, predominantly Muslim province.

There has been a spate of kidnappings in recent months off Sabah, a popular tourist destination and dive spot that is just a short boat ride from the southern Philippines