Security cordon vs. Sayyaf tightened in Sulu

Chief Superintendent Bensali Jabarani, commander of police forces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, inspects policemen and members of the Civilian Auxillary Force deployed near an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in Indanan town in Sulu province, where the terrorist group is still holding two Red Cross workers Swiss national Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni since January 15. Sulu Governor Dr. Sakur Tan has declared a state of emergency in the province to address the hostage crisis. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 12, 2009) – Security forces continue to tighten its cordon around the jungle stronghold of Abu Sayyaf terrorists holding two kidnapped foreign Red Cross workers in Sulu province in the southern Philippines.

Chief Superintendent Bensali Jabarani, the regional police chief, said security forces have surrounded the Abu Sayyaf in the town of Indanan where they are holding hostage Swiss national Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni.

“Police and military forces, as well as armed village guards are still in the area and preventing the kidnappers from escaping with their hostages. We are closely working with the crisis committee headed by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan and the military and other law enforcement agencies,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Tan has put the province under the state of emergency to address the three-month old hostage crisis after the Abu Sayyaf threatened to behead Notter and Vagni.

A terrorist spokesman Albader Parad said they will kill the hostages if security forces do not return to pull out from at least five towns and return to barracks. Tan flatly rejected the Abu Sayyaf demand, saying, the withdrawal of troops and police forces could pave the way for terrorists to escape or merge with other rebel groups.

The Abu Sayyaf has released a third Red Cross hostage, Mary Jean Lacaba, a Filipino engineer, on April 2 two days after the declaration of the state of emergency.

Jabarani said the crackdown on Abu Sayyaf supporters is going on in Sulu. He said police and military last week raided a house in the capital town of Jolo and seized a cache of bomb components believed to be a source of Abu Sayyaf explosives.

“The governor’s declaration of the state of emergency in Sulu really helped us in the campaign against terrorism. It gives us more power to address the threats of terrorism,” he said.

Jabarani, who was in Sulu over the weekend, also inspected police forces and armed village guards who are helping authorities prevent the kidnappers from escaping.

Military and police intelligence reports said several Jemaah Islamiya terrorists are among those holding the aid workers - Mauiya, Dulmatin, Zulkifli bin Hir and Umar Patek - who are all wanted by Indonesia for the spate of deadly attacks, including the Bali bombing in 2002. The US has offered at least $16 million rewards for their capture. (With a report from Mark Navales)

Ambush kills 3 in Basilan province

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 06, 2009) – At least three people were killed Monday in an ambush blamed by the military and police to clan war in the troubled province of Basilan in the southern Philippines.

Police said the gunmen ambushed a cargo truck as it passed a village in the town of Lantawan. At least seven passengers were also injured in the attack.

Regional police chief Bensali Jabarani said he sent additional police forces in the town to hunt down the attackers.

“Sporadic fighting between the protagonists actually began on Sunday and continued until today. We have sent forces in the area to hunt those behind the attack and disarm the protagonists. This is clan war,” he told nthe Mindanao Examiner.

The military also said the fighting was between two warring civilian groups.

“We have reports that the attack was connected to a feud between two civilian groups,” Army First Lt. Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said in a separate interview.

Clan war or locally known as “rido”, is common in many parts of the southern Philippines. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the think tank, Asia Foundation, have said more than 3,000 people have been killed over the past seven decades in family feuds in the southern Philippines.

Rido can involve disputes among family members or among two or more rival families, pitting neighbors or different ethnic groups against each other. The disputes center on issues of land, money, marriage or political power and involve revenge killing.

The violence increases with each act of retaliation, broadening to include those not directly involved in the dispute, including women and children, according to the Asia Foundation, adding, some feuds lasted for decades. (Mindanao Examiner)

Boy kidnapped in Basilan Island

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 01, 2009) – Gunmen abducted a nine-year old boy in Lamitan City in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, police said Sunday.

Police said the boy, Chester Gruta, was just buying a bottle of vinegar at a store in Lamitan City late Saturday when the assailants seized him and fled on a motorcycle. “There is a police operation now to locate the boy,” Chief Supt. Bensali Jabarani, the regional police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said police is still investigating the motive of the abduction and that he ordered additional patrol in Basilan.

Jabarani appealed to the public to stay vigilant in the wake of the spate of kidnappings in Basilan, one of six provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region.

“Citizens should stay vigilant and report any suspicious persons to the authorities,” he said.

Last Wednesday, a midwife, Elizar Gomera, 45, was also kidnapped in Lamitan City.

No group claimed responsibility for the latest kidnapping, but authorities previously blamed the Abu Sayyaf as behind the spate of kidnappings. The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be holding a bakery owner Eliseo Hablo and three government teachers Freires Quizon, Janette delos Reyes and Rafael Mayorada – all kidnapped in Zamboanga City and brought by boat to Basilan island.

The group holding the teachers has demanded P6 million in exchange for the freedom of the hostages, but authorities said the government has a strict no-ransom policy and ruled out payments of ransom to the kidnappers.

Police said the latest kidnapping could be the handiwork of criminal gangs victimizing innocent civilians in an effort to raise ransom for the purchase of weapons and to finance future operations.

More than a dozen people had been kidnapped in Basilan and Zamboanga City in recent months and most of those freed had paid millions of pesos in ransoms. (Mindanao Examiner)

12 prisoners escape, police launched massive hunt in South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 14, 2008) – Police launched a massive manhunt against 12 prisoners who escaped from jail in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

Police said guards had also killed one prisoner while trying to escape from his cell on Tuesday. The 12 prisoners are facing various charges ranging from homicide to murder, said Chief Superintendent Bensali Jabarani, the regional police chief.

“There is an ongoing manhunt against those who escaped from prison. We are appealing to the families and relatives of the prisoners to convince them to surrender peacefully,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Jabarani said the prisoners escaped by digging a tunnel inside their cell. “They secretly dug this tunnel and covered it with carpets that they used in praying. The escape was uncovered after the guards conducted a headcount on Tuesday morning,” he said.

It was unknown how the prisoners were able to dig the underground passage, but Jabarani said authorities are investigating the jail break. He said among those who bolted jail was an Abu Sayyaf militant, who is facing kidnapping charges in Sulu.

Jabarani said three people, all Muslims, were also abducted near the town of Parang. “We have reports that the abduction was connected to a family feud. We are still investigating this case,” he said.

He did not say when the trio was seized, but claimed the victims were abducted inside a passenger vehicle by gunmen.

Abu Sayyaf militants are still holding a kidnapped a Chinese trader, Xili Wu alias Peter Go, in Sulu since last month. Four militants seized the 28-year old Wu, from Fujian province, as he was closing his electronics store in Jolo town on December 13.

Police said Wu, along with five other Chinese men, arrived in Jolo in December 2007 and since then operated the Perlas Trading.

Authorities tagged the Abu Sayyaf group as behind the spate of kidnappings and bomb attacks across Mindanao. The Abu Sayyaf, which means "The Bearer of the Sword," has been labeled a terrorist organization by both Manila and Washington, and is believed by the US to have links with the al-Qaeda terror network. (Mindanao Examiner)

Police pursue kidnappers of univerity official in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 21, 2008) – Police forces mounted fresh operation Tuesday to capture gunmen who freed a kidnapped university official in the restive region of Mindanao, south of Manila, officials said.

Gunmen released Hipolito Minoza to Marawi City Mayor Fahad Salic on Monday afternoon after a series of negotiations. No ransom was paid for the safe release of the hostage, who was kidnapped Oct. 16 while driving his car near Saguiraran town in Lanao del Sur, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Minoza is the budget officer of the Mindanao State University.

Details of the negotiations were unknown or who were behind the kidnapping, but military authorities have implicated Abdurahman Macapaar, a leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front tagged as behind a series of deadly attacks in the region in recent weeks.

“Police forces are now tracking down the kidnappers,” Chief Superintendent Bensali Jabarani, the regional police commander, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Jabarani said three kidnappers had already been captured by police forces. He said police is investigating reports of Macapaar’s involvement in the kidnapping.

The MILF has strongly denied that Macapaar’s group was involved in the kidnapping, saying, it could be connected to Minoza’s job.

“Macapaar has no involvement in that kidnapping. Authorities should investigate deeply the motive of Minoza’s kidnapping and it could be related to his job as budget officer of MSU,” said Eid kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting for self-determination in the troubled, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)

Police In The Muslim Autonomous Region Has New Commander

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 25, 2008) – The Philippine National Police has named Chief Superintendent Bensali Jabarani as the news commander of the police force in the Muslim autonomous region.

Jabarani, a native of Sulu province, replaced Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, who recently retired. Jabarani also served as Basilan police commander before assuming various positions in the regional police office.

He pledged to continue reforms in the police force. (Mindanao Examiner)