Seven Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped at sea in the southern Philippines, the Indonesian government said yesterday, the latest in a spree of abductions by armed gangs in the region.
The crew were towing a coal barge in the Sulu Sea on Monday when their tugboat was hijacked by armed groups, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said.
Seven sailors were taken hostage in two separate attacks on the vessel about an hour apart, Marsudi said, adding that the six other crew aboard the tugboat were left unharmed.
Photo: EPA
“The government will do everything possible to free these hostages,” Marsudi told reporters. “The safety of these seven Indonesian citizens is our priority.”
A spokesman for the ministry said he could not confirm whether a ransom demand had been made, or if the Philippine-based militant group Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the abductions.
Earlier this year the group kidnapped four Malaysian seamen and 14 Indonesian sailors, holding them in their stronghold in the southern Philippines. They were freed several months later, but there was no information on whether a ransom was paid.
A spokesman for the Philippine government said it was working to verify the report.
If confirmed, it would be the third kidnapping of Indonesian sailors this year.
The defense ministers of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed this week to consider coordinated steps, including possible joint patrols to tackle a wave of seaborne crime in the Sulu and Celebes seas, which together form a key waterway among the three countries.
Abu Sayyaf, a band of Muslim militants, is highly active in the region and specializes in kidnappings-for-ransom.
The group has beheaded two Canadian hostages this year after their ransom demands were not met.
A Filipina held hostage by the group was released from captivity yesterday, Philippine police said, a week after her boyfriend was one of those beheaded.
Marites Flor was among four people abducted nine months ago by Abu Sayyaf.
Flor’s partner, Robert Hall, was murdered after a ransom deadline lapsed last week and following a similar killing of the other Canadian hostage, John Ridsdel, in April.
Flor was freed in Sulu, a remote archipelago known as a hideout of the militants, police chief Wilfredo Cayat told reporters.
Cayat did not give details on the circumstances of her release, except that she was dropped off outside the house of local politician Abdusakur Tan on Jolo, the main island in Sulu.
“She was released early morning somewhere in the province of Sulu and brought to the governor’s house. I have no idea if ransom was paid,” Cayat said.
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