The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has temporarily halted operations in the restive southern Philippines following the kidnapping of three of its workers, it was reported yesterday.
“We are temporarily halting operations in the area so we can revisit and assess our security arrangements,” Roland Bigler, the ICRC’s spokesman in the Philippines, was quoted saying on the GMA7 TV Web site.
He said the kidnapping on Thursday of ICRC workers Andreas Notter, a Swiss national, Eugenio Vagni of Italy and Filipina Jean Lacaba was a “setback.”
The ICRC team was kidnapped by armed men from the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf as they left a jail on the island of Jolo, according to a military spokesman.
So far no demands have been made by the kidnappers.
“Our main concern is the safety of our colleagues,” Bigler said.
The Web site also quoted a statement by the Italian foreign ministry saying it has activated its crisis unit to monitor the situation.
The Italian embassy last activated the unit in 2007 when Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was kidnapped in Zamboanga.
He was eventually released after months in captivity.
Embassy officials declined to comment if ransom was paid for his safe release.
“So far no ransom demands have been made and no one has heard from the kidnappers,” regional police spokesman Senior Superintendent Danilo Bacas said.
“Our operation along with the military to recover the victims is ongoing. Until now, there has been no feedback from the abductors,” Bacas said.
Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s biggest Muslim rebel group, said it was helping in the hunt for the ICRC workers.
“The latest information we received is that the kidnappers are transferring their captives by land and sea from one island to another,” Iqbal said.
Jolo is a known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, a 380-member group blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Philippine military kept mum yesterday on continuing efforts to rescue the three ICRC workers.
First Lieutenant Esteffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman, said operations were continuing to rescue Swiss nationals Andreas Notter, 38, Eugenio Vagni, 62, and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba, 44, but declined to give details, to avoid jeopardizing the effort.
The three ICRC personnel had just visited the provincial jail on Jolo island, 1,000km south of Manila, on Thursday when suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels blocked the path of their vehicle and seized them.
“This is not a media blackout but rather a precaution to ensure that the operation on the ground is not compromised and that the safety of the victims is not jeopardized,” Cacho said in a statement.
More than 1,500 government troops have been dispatched to scour the mountains of Jolo island in a bid to rescue the abducted ICRC personnel.
Police said they have taken into custody a witness who could help identify the kidnappers.
On Friday, Cacho said that based on initial field reports, it was the group of Abu Sayyaf Commander Alpader Parad that seized the ICRC staff.
Anna Nelson, a spokeswoman for the ICRC, said the organization’s operations in the strife-torn southern region of Mindanao were continuing despite the abduction.
“All the ICRC projects are fully operational in Mindanao,” she said. “The only affected project is the water and sanitation program in Jolo provincial jail for obvious reasons.”
Abu Sayyaf is also notorious for high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom cases, including the abduction of 21 European tourists and Asian workers from a Malaysian resort island in 2000.
The hostages were ransomed for several millions of dollars before they were freed months later.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was