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Abu Sayyaf kills second Canadian hostage
 The Abu Sayyaf followed through today on its threat and killed Canadian captive Robert Hall as the deadline for paying $8-million ransom passed. Rebel spokesman Abu Raami said, "There is no extension. We have talked this over and over among our leadership and all decided no extension."The terrorists had demanded P600 million for the release of Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Marites Flor. Hall had been held since Sept. 21, 2015 and is the second Canadian slain after John Ridsdel, who was killed in late April. There is no word on the fate of the remaining hostage Sekkingstad. His execution comes after Prime Minister Trudeau repeated at the G7 summit in Japan that Canada will not pay ransoms to win the freedom of hostages. The captives were seized by masked gunmen last September near Davao City and transported more than 500 kilometers west to Abu Sayyaf stronghold Jolo Island, where a bounty of more than $30 million was initially demanded for each of what were then four hostages. A military offensive against Abu Sayyaf that began before Ridsdel's death on the same island in Mindanao where the Islamist group is believed to be holding the hostages has apparently stalled after initially retaking some lost territory. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte had a conversation with Trudeau in which Duterte said he apologized for Hall's abduction. Duterte is "the only person with the added leverage in Mindanao, through his connections with different rebel groups, to help the hostages. He has given Canada assurances that he will do his utmost to help the Canadian hostage," said political scientist Richard Heydarian of Manila's De La Salle University. Posted by: ryuge 2016-06-13 |
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