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| Southeast Asia |
| Escaped hostages say Abu Sayyaf used them as slaves |
| 2015-08-24 |
| [Gulf Today] The two members of the Philippine Coast Guard have recounted they were treated like slaves by the Abu Sayyaf during the 107 days they were held captive in the jungles of the island province of Sulu. Allain Pagaling and Gringo Villaruz said that as slaves, they cooked for the militants, carried their ammunition, and even served as masseurs to the leaders. They recounted their ordeal following their escape on Wednesday during heavy fighting between government security forces and the Abu Sayyaf in the coastal town of Indanan, that also resulted in the killing of at least 20 of the extremists. Villaruz told journalists the 200 militants present in their camp apparently panicked when government forces assaulted their positions. He said, "There was a sudden firefight and so we made a run for it. We did not think of anything else except to run until we escaped. There was chaos because of the fighting and, as a result, Pagaling and I got separated." In May, the Abu Sayyaf abducted the two men along with the village leader, Roberto Boligao, of an island resort in Zamboanga del Norte province and immediately brought them to Sulu. Last week, the Abu Sayyaf decapitated Boligao and left his beheaded body on the roadside in the town of Maimbung in Sulu. Found on Boligao's corpse was a handwritten note warning the Abu Sayyaf would also behead the two Coast Guard hostages if their demand for $20,000 was not met. But local officials disclosed Boligao's family had expressed anger and indignation because they had already paid the $10,000 ransom demanded by the Abu Sayyaf through a third party negotiator who was not identified. |
| Posted by:ryuge |