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People attend a demonstration in Manila, capital of the Philippines, Dec. 10, 2009, to demand justice for 57 people who were killed in the southern Philippines two weeks ago. The demonstration was held on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day to mark the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948. [Jon Fabrigar/Xinhua] |
Gunmen kidnapped a senior official at a state college in the southern Philippine province of Basilan late Thursday, less than 24 hours after the beheading of a hostage there and the mass abduction of 125 civilians in another southern province.
Basilan police chief Abubakar Tulawie identified the latest victim as Orlando Fajardo, vice president of the Basilan State College. Around 10 militants forcibly took Fajardo away from his residence in front of the college in Isabela city at around 7:30 p. m. (1130 GMT).
No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping yet.
Basilan vice governor Al-Rasheed Sakalahul said he has directed government forces to conduct the blocking operation.
Al Qaeda-linked militants on Wednesday killed a Filipino factory worker they held hostage for a month. The head of Mark Singson was chopped off and dumped in a backpack placed in a public plaza of Isabela. Troops are hunting down the kidnappers as they still keep two other hostages.
A crime gang composed of former pro-government militia on Thursday kidnapped at least 125 civilians in a remote village in Agusan del Sur province. Fifty hostages escaped, 18 were released but the kidnappers hold the other 57 in a hilly hide-out as they continued to negotiate with the authorities.
The Muslims-dominating Mindanao region is awash with loose arms and plagued with poverty, insurgency, and clan wars for decades.
The Agusan del Sur abduction occurred barely 20 days after a group of armed men kidnapped and killed 57 civilians on an election convoy in Maguindanao province. A martial law was imposed in the province as troops were called in to quell rebellion threats posed by thousands of militiamen loyal to a political family accused of ordering the massacre. |
