Abus feel military pressure, flee Basilan

Apparently cowed by the relentless military offensive and the presence of US Special Forces armed with modern weapons and sophisticated communications equipment, top Abu Sayyaf leaders have abandoned their followers and fled Basilan island, the military said yesterday.

Among those who have reportedly left Basilan for nearby Zamboanga City were Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Sabaya, Abu Sayyaf chieftain and spokesman, respectively.

"They are getting out, finding their way from the area to the city," said Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Diaz, deputy chief of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City.

"Many of the rebels have escaped from Basilan and are hiding here in Zamboanga. But we have intensified intelligence efforts to locate them and neutralize the terrorists," Diaz added.

Intelligence agents arrested on Tuesday in a Muslim community in Zamboanga Abu Sayyaf members Munib Assa and Ghalib Hassan who were presented to journalists yesterday at the Southcom headquarters.

Assa and Hassan both carried a P1-million bounty on their heads.

Diaz said they expect more arrests of Abu Sayyaf terrorists who style themselves as religious warriors fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, but engage in mass kidnapping for ransom and other terrorist acts.

"This is just a series of arrests that we are making," Diaz said. "We should be able to get valuable information from them."

Diaz cited the arrest of Hassan and Assa as "an indication that the Abu Sayyaf terrorists are feeling the heat of the military offensive in Basilan."

"They are escaping to Zamboanga City purposely to hide and avoid the continuous operation of our troops in Basilan," he said.

For his part, Southcom spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando said the arrest of Hassan and Assa in Zamboanga City did not indicate there was a breach in military security in Basilan.

Servando did not say if the arrested suspects gave information regarding American couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap who are being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf for nine months now.

Servando said after the tactical interrogation by the military, the two suspects would be turned over to the police who will initiate the filing of criminal charges.

Diaz said the courts have issued warrants of arrest for Assa in connection with the raid on two Catholic schools in Sumisip town in Basilan on March 27, 2000 where some 70 students, teachers and a Claretian priest were seized and herded to the mountain lairs of the Abu Sayyaf.

Witnesses tagged Assa as having a direct hand in the beheading of two of the teachers, identified as Nelson Enriquez and Dante Uban as a "gift" to then President Joseph Estrada.

Fr. Rhoel Gallardo was also tortured and executed along with three other teachers, while some of the captives were freed in exchange for food and other provisions. The rest were rescued by pursuing troops.

Diaz said Assa, who worked as a close-in bodyguard of Sabaya, was also involved in the kidnapping of five students in Tuburan, Basilan, as well as in the 1999 abduction of Patrick Viray, a bank employee in Sulu.

Assa was also identified as having taken part in the May 27, 2001 siege on the upscale Dos Palmas resort in Palawan were 20 guests and employees were captured and taken by boat across a vast sea expanse to Basilan.

Diaz said Assa has been charged for the pillage of Ipil town in Zamboanga del Sur on April 4, 1999 where Abu Sayyaf gunmen massacred some 50 people.

Burnhams still in Basilan

Quoting reports by local villagers, the military said the Burnham couple who were reported earlier as having been shipped out of Basilan to evade military rescue operations, are still on the island.

Mayor Sakib Salajin of Maluso town in Basilan said the American couple from Wichita, Kansas were spotted by villagers as the victims were being dragged by their captors to nearby Lantawan town.

"They (Burnhams) looked okay, according to the residents," Salajin said.

He said Hapilon has custody of the Burnhams, confirming earlier reports that Sabaya has turned over the Americans to Hapilon.

On the other hand, Yap remained in the custody of Sabaya.

Lantawan is reputed to be the stronghold of Hapilon whose band abducted 15 plantation workers last June and beheaded two of them.

Salajin also revealed that some of the Abu Sayyaf bandits were hiding in islets off Maluso, while others have sought refuge in Sumisip town.

The mayor said the Abu Sayyaf terrorists have been on the move in Basilan to evade the troops, adding that the villagers have refused to give them food.

He also said Janjalani has been hiding in Tawi-Tawi after fleeing Basilan, while Hapilon has been sending surrender feelers.

At least nine battalions of the Philippine military, including one from the Special Forces and two from the Marines, have been involved in the all-out operations in Basilan.

The Filipino troops are being assisted by 160 members of US Special Forces deployed for the joint military exercise dubbed Balikatan 02-1. — With Paolo Romero