An undated photo of kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 11 Jun) – The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on Monday condemned the kidnapping of an Italian priest and said it is helping Filipino authorities track down the hostage in Mindanao island.
Philippine authorities tagged MILF leader Akkidin Abdusalam, also known as Commander Kiddie, as behind the kidnapping Sunday of Fr. Giancarlo Bossi.
But the rebel group denied any involvement and condemned the kidnapping of the priest.
"We condemn this kidnaping. This is against humanity and the MILF has nothing to do with it. Akkidin is not a member of the MILF. He is not a member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces. We are now helping track down the kidnappers," a rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu, told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
Armed men abducted the 57-year old priest after celebrating mass with villagers in the town of Payao in Zamboanga Sibugay province, the Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere (PIME) said.
Kabalu said his group is also looking into reports that some of Abdusalam's relatives could be members of the MILF or had something to do with the kidnapping. "We are closely working with the Philippine government for the early solution of this problem," he said.
Authorities have previously linked Abdusallam to previous kidnappings in Mindanao and a captured Abu Sayyaf militant, Omar Opik Lasal, also tagged the MILF leader to slain Jemaah Islamiya bomber Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi.
Lasal said the rebel commander provided him and al-Ghozi and another Abu Sayyaf terrorist Abdulmukin Edris safe refuge in Mindanao when they escaped from a police detention in Manila in 2003.
Al-Ghozi and Edris were later killed in separate clashes with security forces in Mindanao. Al-Ghozi, tagged as behind the 2000 bombing in Manila, had been serving a 17-year jail term for possessing explosives when he escaped.
Bossi, who started his missionary in Payao since 1998, is the third Italian priest kidnapped in Zamboanga Peninsula in the past ten years.
Moro rebels kidnapped Fr. Luciano Benedetti, 52, in Zamboanga del Norte province in 1998 and held for nearly 10 weeks until he was freed in exchange for a huge government ransom.
In 2001, renegade MILF rebels snatched Fr. Giuseppi Pierantoni as the 44-year-old from Bologna said mass in the parish church of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur. He escaped from his abductors after six months in captivity.
The MILF is currently negotiating peace with Manila and has helped authorities rescue many kidnapped victims in the troubled region. Kidnappings for ransom has become a lucrative business for rebel groups and criminal gangs in the impoverished provinces in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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