March 24, 2002, The Philippine Star, Philippines: Army-Abu Sayyaf clash in Basilan leaves five dead,

March 24, 2002, The Philippine Star, Philippines: Army-Abu Sayyaf clash in Basilan leaves five dead,

Despite threats from the Abu Sayyaf to execute three hostages if military force is used to rescue them, government troops continued to press their offensive against the terrorist group yesterday, resulting in another encounter in Basilan that left at least five extremists dead.

Col Roland Detabali, operations chief of the military's Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, said heavy fighting erupted at about 1 p.m. in Barangay [Village] Landu-ngan, Lantawan Town.

Five Abu Sayyaf gunmen were reported killed in the skirmishes with the main Abu Sayyaf group composed of some 30 heavily armed fighters, Southcom chief Lt-Gen Roy Cimatu said.

He said the troops were immediately reinforced, as blocking forces were set up to prevent the terrorists from retreating into their mountain redoubt in the densely forested Sampinit complex in central Basilan.

The frequency of clashes heightened as elite units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines stepped up their search and rescue operations for the three remaining Abu Sayyaf hostages, consisting of American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansas and Filipina nurse Deborah Yap of Lamitan town.

The hostages have been in captivity for 10 months now in the jungle lairs of the Abu Sayyaf in the island-province.

Aided by satellite data and modern surveillance equipment including unmanned spy planes brought in by their American military advisers, the Filipino soldiers enhanced their capability in tracking down the Abu Sayyaf terrorists who have been on the run since the military offensive involving at least nine battalions was launched in July last year.

Detabali said the operations have reached "critical point" as indicated by increasing number of contacts with the enemy, adding that the troops were closing in on the main Abu Sayyaf group on Basilan island and would deliver the fatal blow once they catch up with the bandits.

"We are now reaching the critical point of the operation. We have more or less pinpointed the main group of the enemy," reiterated Southcom spokesman Lt-Col Danilo Servando yesterday.

"What was lacking is the actual sighting of the hostages," he added.

Army Rangers clashed on Thursday with about 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen believed holding the three hostages.

The firefight which took place in a remote village near Lantawan left seven soldiers wounded. No casualty figure on the Abu Sayyaf side was immediately available.

Southcom deputy spokesman Capt Noel Detoyato expressed belief that the Abu Sayyaf band led by Hapilon Isnilon and Hamsiraji Sali went to Lantawan to establish contacts with ransom negotiators.

Detoyato said except for the capital city of Isabela, other places in Basilan have poor communication signals.

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said Malacanang will not prevent a 14-member international peace mission from conducting a fact-finding visit to Basilan.

Tiglao said the Palace would even accompany the delegation, led by University of the Philippines Prof Walden Bello, to Basilan to monitor the conduct of the joint military training between Filipino and American troops.

The multinational panel is composed of human rights advocates, politicians, parliamentarians and members of academe.

However, Tiglao, along with National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, raised serious doubts on the objectivity of Bello in carrying out his group's mission.

Tiglao held it very likely that Bello, an outspoken anti-American activist, would conclude that the manoeuvres, dubbed Balikatan 02-1, would be another form of "American imperialism".

"Walden Bello is one of the most pathetic economic gurus in the Philippines. He sees the world in his own prism of anti-American and anti-World Bank bias, His credibility as a guru is, of course, fractured by the fact that he cannot show any significant record of success in any endeavour except in propagating his biases," Golez said.

"His team will proceed, no doubt, into a fault-finding frenzy and blame all of Basilan's ills on the demons that haunt their mind. They will see human rights violations in everything the military, both the Philippine and US, does, but will see no evil in the ways of the Abu Sayyaf," Golez added.

Nevertheless, Tiglao said the government was willing to provide all access to information needed by Bello's group.

Source: The Philippine Star web site, Manila, in English 24 Mar 02