September 27, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Abus stage ambushes 2 soldiers dead,

ABU Sayyaf bandits, outnumbered at least 10 to one, have killed two soldiers and wounded eight other members of a big government force out to rescue 17 hostages in the jungles of Jolo, according to military reports. Despite the difficult and unfamiliar terrain, the Abu Sayyaf's mass support and prospects of a prolonged campaign, the military vowed to press on with the operation that began 12 days ago. 

But Libya, which recently helped mediate the release of 11 Western hostages, urged both sides to stop the fighting and return to the negotiating table. A military spokesperson in Manila yesterday said a 30-man Abu Sayyaf unit ambushed an Army patrol near Talipao town on Monday afternoon, killing one soldier and wounding four others. 

In another encounter also on Monday, an Army corporal was killed and four soldiers were wounded near Maimbung town, Lt. Leo Ungao told Agence France Presse in Jolo. Military spokespersons in Manila could not immediately confirm the report. The military also reported that two Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed by a Marine company at an abandoned bandit hideout on Mt. Panungan near Maimbung on Monday. 

Before Monday's clashes, the military reported only one soldier, two civilians and 105 bandits had been killed since the operation was launched on Sept. 16. The report, however, could not be independently verified as the military blocked access to many areas of Jolo and imposed a news blackout. Although outnumbered, the Abu Sayyaf gunmen are giving the impression that they are outrunning their military pursuers who have conceded that it could take them a month to rescue all the hostages, including an American and 13 Filipinos. 

The military originally estimated that the assault would take no more than six days. But Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. also indicated Tuesday the operation could take several more weeks. The National Security Council met yesterday, and Palace officials said President Estrada was expected to make today an "important announcement" based on the council's recommendations. 

Still optimistic

Still, Brig. Gen. Narciso Abaya, overall commander of the 4,000 soldiers and policemen mobilized for the Jolo assault, remained optimistic the operation would soon yield some results. "The Abu Sayyaf is getting tired. We will keep on pressing the operation and hopefully we will get the hostages," Abaya said. "Their area is getting smaller," he added. 

But Brig. Gen. Generoso Senga, Army spokesperson, said many of the Abu Sayyaf bandits might have melted into the civilian populace since "many of them are their relatives." "This is one of the difficulties that we face. That is a reality," Senga added. 

He said the bandits "have been dispersed into small groups" to harass advancing military columns. Abaya and other field officers also said their men were having a hard time finding the Abu Sayyaf's main force of 400 gunmen in the tropical rainforest. "They're more familiar with the terrain," said Abaya. 

"The forest cover of Mt. Tumantangis is really thick," another military officer said, referring to the 788-meter peak on Jolo's western flank where Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang has taken refuge with Wilde Almeda and 11 of his fellow preachers as human shields. "It's very difficult to move while the Jesus Miracle Crusade men are still with them," the officer added. The Christian evangelists visited the Abu Sayyaf camp in July to pray over other captives but were themselves taken hostage. 

Separate military units have also been deployed against an Abu Sayyaf faction led by Abu Sabaya and Khaddafy Janjalani. This group is holding US hostage Jeffrey Schilling. Another faction, led by Radulan Sajiron, is holding Filipino hostage Roland Ullah somewhere in Luuk town. The military, however, has not yet spotted a fourth Abu Sayyaf faction believed to be holding the three Malaysians. 

Libya

In Amman, Jordan, a senior Libyan official on Tuesday urged the Philippine military and the Abu Sayyaf to lay down their arms and renew peace negotiations. "We deplore the combat underway in the Philippines," African unity minister Ali Abdel Salam Triki told a news conference in Amman on the sidelines of an official visit to Jordan. 

"It is necessary to return to the negotiating table in order to implement the Tripoli accord granting autonomy" to the Moro rebels in Mindanao, Triki said. According to him, President Estrada and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi discussed the situation in Jolo in a recent telephone conversation. Libya recently helped mediate the release of 11 Western hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf. 

The Gadhafi Charitable Foundation, headed by Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, promised development aid to Muslim areas in the Philippines in exchange for the hostages' release. Reports from Carlito Pablo and Donna S. Cueto in Manila; Carolyn O. Arguillas, PDI Mindanao Bureau; and Inquirer wires