Philippine President Gloria Arroyo condoles Saturday, August 15, 2009 with the family of one of 23 soldiers slain in fierce clashes with the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro rebels in Basilan province. Arroyo also held a closed door command conference with senior military and defense officials at the tightly guarded Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who was with Arroyo, said the President has ordered the military to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 15, 2009) –President Gloria Arroyo arrived in Zamboanga City on Saturday and condoled with the families of soldiers killed in fierce clashes with Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro rebels in the southern province of Basilan.
Arroyo, accompanied by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Armed Forces chief General Victor Ibrado, also visited wounded soldiers at a military hospital at the Western Mindanao Command headquarters where she handed cash assistance
She spoke with the families of the slain soldiers and awarded posthumous medals and money worth more than seven million pesos. Arroyo later presided over a command conference with senior military and police commanders.
Teodoro said the President ordered the military to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings-for-ransom in the southern Philippines.
“The President’s order is to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf,” the Defense Secretary told reporters.
Troops on Wednesday stormed an Abu Sayyaf camp in the village of Silangkum in Basilan’s Ungkaya Pukan town, but security forces also clashed with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in the neighboring village of Baguindan.
The MILF said soldiers attacked its forces without provocation, an accusation denied by the military. The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination in the South. The fighting killed 23 soldiers and 20 militants and rebels. (Mindanao Examiner)
Arroyo, accompanied by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Armed Forces chief General Victor Ibrado, also visited wounded soldiers at a military hospital at the Western Mindanao Command headquarters where she handed cash assistance
She spoke with the families of the slain soldiers and awarded posthumous medals and money worth more than seven million pesos. Arroyo later presided over a command conference with senior military and police commanders.
Teodoro said the President ordered the military to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings-for-ransom in the southern Philippines.
“The President’s order is to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf,” the Defense Secretary told reporters.
Troops on Wednesday stormed an Abu Sayyaf camp in the village of Silangkum in Basilan’s Ungkaya Pukan town, but security forces also clashed with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in the neighboring village of Baguindan.
The MILF said soldiers attacked its forces without provocation, an accusation denied by the military. The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination in the South. The fighting killed 23 soldiers and 20 militants and rebels. (Mindanao Examiner)
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