Barely
two weeks in office, the new Duterte government and the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) have launched an all-out military offensive against the
heavily armed Abu Sayyaf Group. So far, 40 rebels have been killed and two
dozen wounded in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu, the country’s cradle of
merciless militants.
This announcement was made
by Philippine military spokesman Col. Filemon Tan during a regular media
briefing about the ongoing military offensives against the Islamic militants.
The number of Abu Sayyaf
militants killed this month is the largest number of casualties ever inflicted
against the rebel group. This has occurred in only the first two weeks of the
Duterte administration.
Duterte earlier warned Abu
Sayyaf to halt their terrorist activities. Otherwise, he said, they will face
the full force of the law. But the rebels made a mockery of the government’s
warning by beheading two Canadian captives after both the captives’ relatives
and the Canadian government failed to raise $13 million in ransom money to
secure their freedom.
In response to the
beheadings, the Philippines armed forces deployed scores of armored vehicles,
artillery pieces and close air support with the aim of wiping out the militants
who have become well-known for kidnapping and extortion activities in the
Southern Philippines and Eastern Malaysia.
The offensive cost the life
of an army solider last week. Another scout ranger also was killed this week by
an improvised explosive device while chasing 200 heavily armed Abu Sayyaf
militants in Basilan led by their commanders who go by the names “Hapilon” and
“Indama.”
Want military face-off
The military has said the
offensives will take a bit longer to complete because the’re waiting for the
right time to launch decisive attacks that will result in direct battles with
the rebels. AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo Visaya said in Manila that he was
satisfied with how his soldiers were doing their job in Sulu and Basilan.
Tan told media that the
troops are succeeding in containing the Abu Sayyaf core group and can prevent
the firefight from spreading to other communities.
However, at least 7,000
civilians already have been displaced since the start of the military
offensives. The provincial government of Basilan has also declared a state of
calamity in the towns of Tipo-Tipo, Ungkaya Pukan and Al-Barka.
A source told Asia Times
that military pressure on Abu Sayyaf had caused the group to delay the
beheading of another hostage — Norwegian national Kjartan Sekkingstad.
A Philippine daily earlier
reported that Abu Sayyaf planned to behead Sekkingstad. But an Abu
Sayyaf leader known as commander Rami announced that the group was delaying the
beheading because they’re aware that ransom money was ready to be turned over.
The rebels still hold at
least 14 hostages – one Dutch, one Norwegian, five Filipinos and seven
Indonesians.
Local support
Abu Sayyaf’s leaders have
been able to elude authorities because of support from the surrounding
community. Intelligence reports reaching Asia Times disclose that the
group has thousands of local sympathizers. The military also suspects that the
Abu Sayyaf is sharing its ransom money with the locals to gain their cooperation
and prevent soldiers from gathering information of their whereabouts.
Abu Sayyaf officially
claims to be fighting for a separate Islamic State in the Philippines. But they
have mostly concentrated on kidnapping and extortion activities in
the Southern Philippines and East Malaysia and have shown little
ideological focus.
Noel Tarrazona is a freelance
international journalist based in Vancouver but is presently in the
Philippines. He is also a senior analyst of wikistrat
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