American tagged in Zamboanga siege nabbed in CDO

ZAMBOANGA CITY - A former US navy man tagged in the deadly Zamboanga City siege in September was arrested by joint police and military intelligence operatives in a predawn operation in Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday.

Chief Inspector Airl Huesca, Spokesman of Zamboanga Peninsula regional police office, said American Daniel Xavier was arrested as he was boarding a passenger bus in Barangay Bulua at around 3:30 a.m.

Huesca said Xavier was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 15 of the 9th Judicial Region in Zamboanga City based on the charges filed against him by the government for his alleged violation of the Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine act on Crimes against Humanitarian Law, Genocide and other crimes against humanity and violation of the Revised Penal Code for the crime of rebellion.

Xavier has been brought to the headquarters of the 10th Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for tactical debriefig.

The others charged for the same violations were Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari, rebel commander Habier Malik and close to 300 Moro rebels.

The charges were based on the three-week standoff between the rebel group and government troops in Zamboanga City last September, where more than 200 rebels and soldiers and civilians were killed and thousands displaced.

Huesca said that prior to the Zamboanga siege, Xavier was seen accompanying Misuari in Zamboanga City. The American was also allegedly spotted with Misuari when the rebel leader declared the Bangsamoro Republik in Sulu province.

Earlier reports identified Xavier as a representative from the United Nations, which was later denied by the international body.