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| Southeast Asia |
| Abu Sayyaf releases three more hostages |
| 2016-09-19 |
| [Gulf Today] The Abu Sayyaf has released three more hostages less than 24 hours after they freed a Norwegian businessman reportedly following payment of a $600,000 ransom. MNLF spokesman Samsula Adju said the latest to be freed where three Indonesian crewmen of an Indonesian tugboat abducted on the Sulu Sea on July 19. He said, "Yes, they were released to the MNLF by the Abu Sayyaf." Authorities said Sekkingstad and the three Indonesians spent the night with MNLF chief Nur Misuari before they were turned over on Sunday morning to Secretary Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser on the peace process. Dureza said, "His first words to me when I spoke to him on the phone was, 'Thank you to President Duterte'." "Basically, I've been treated like a slave, carrying their stuff around, time to time abused," a frail-looking Sekkingstad said when he was received by a government envoy in the town of Indanan on the island of Jolo. Also released were three Indonesians held by the group, who were also turned over to envoy Jesus Dureza. Reports say that Dureza will bring the four hostages from Sulu to Davao City for a meeting with President Duterte. But the issue of whether a ransom was paid for the release of the four hostages was not confirmed due to the official government policy not to give in to ransom demands of the Abu Sayyaf. In what was called a "slip of the tongue," Duterte himself told reporters that associates of Sekkingstad had raised at least $1 million for his release when informed of another beheading. It turned out, however, that the Abu Sayyaf had beheaded a 19-year-old son of a Sulu court employee they earlier abducted in Sulu for his family's failure to pay their ransom demand. |
| Posted by:ryuge |