PIME Superior, the Rev. Gianni Sandalo, speaks on his phone in this photograph taken June 10, 2007 at his headquarters in Zamboanga City in southern RP after rogue MILF rebels kidnapped a fellow Italian missioner, Fr Giancarlo Bossi in Payao town in Zamboanga Sibugay province. Independent sources tell the Mindanao Examiner that the kidnappers have escaped a massive military rescue operation with their hostage and are believed hiding in Lanao del Norte province in the Muslim autonomous region.
ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 18 Jun) – Kidnappers holding an Italian priest captive have escaped from a massive military rescue operation in the southern Filipino province of Zamboanga Sibugay, independent sources told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner, on Monday.
Sources said Fr Giancarlo Bossi may have been brought to Lanao Del Norte province after his captors allegedly escaped from Naga town in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Security officials refused to comment on the reports.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels helping Filipino authorities Bossi, of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME), said they have cordoned off an area where the priest is being held.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels helping Filipino authorities Bossi, of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME), said they have cordoned off an area where the priest is being held.
Bossi, 57, was kidnapped at gunpoint June 10 after celebrating mass in the village called Bulawan in the coastal town of Payao in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Police tagged rogue MILF rebels led by Akiddin Abdusallam as behind the kidnapping.
But the MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with the government, said the gang leader has long been wanted because of his criminal activities and that he has joined the Abu Sayyaf group tied to al-Qaeda.
Rebel forces have earlier given ultimatum to the kidnappers to free the priest unharmed or face assault. Rebels have traced Bossi’s location in Lanao province, according to other sources, but the MILF would not confirm nor deny reports of the escape.
Maj. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the Army’s First Infantry Division, earlier said his troops have also surrounded the kidnappers’ hideout and that it was only a matter of time before they can rescue the hostage.
Pajarito could not be contacted on Monday and his phones were turned off.
The MILF, which is talking peace with Manila, forged an agreement in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.
But the accord ends on Thursday unless both sides agree to renew the interim pact and if not, the MILF may not be able to continue helping authorities rescue the missioner.
The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, has previously helped in rescuing many Filipino and foreign kidnapped victims in the restive region of Mindanao. It also provided the Philippine government with a list of names of suspected Jemaah Islamiya militants hiding in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
Pajarito could not be contacted on Monday and his phones were turned off.
The MILF, which is talking peace with Manila, forged an agreement in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.
But the accord ends on Thursday unless both sides agree to renew the interim pact and if not, the MILF may not be able to continue helping authorities rescue the missioner.
The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, has previously helped in rescuing many Filipino and foreign kidnapped victims in the restive region of Mindanao. It also provided the Philippine government with a list of names of suspected Jemaah Islamiya militants hiding in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
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