Abu Sayyaf Group allegedly Behind The Latest Kidnapping Of Indonesian Sailors

Balikpapan, Kalimantan

Seven Indonesian crew members were kidnapped while sailing in the waters of the southern Philippines, the latest incident allegedly involving the militant group of Abu Sayyaf. The situation is still under development, an official has confirmed.

"A relevant institution in Indonesia are probing the situation to confirm the news, as well as looking for supporting evidence," said Minister of Counselor, Wibanarto Eugenius, at the Indonesian embassy in Manila told the press today.

Wibanarto said, in kidnapping cases, the offender will usually contact the shipping company after the crew had been safely relocated. "So far it has not happened," he said. However, Wibanarto mentioned that communication can often be a problem when the group was still moving.

He affirmed that the government will continue to look into this issue.

Meanwhile, post source who has knowledge of the matter also confirmed that the kidnappers are members of the same network that hijacked the Brahma 12 of tugs in March, under the leadership of Tawing Humair.

The authorities in Samarinda port, where the ship had departed on June 4, confirms the hostage situation. Col. Yus Kusmany would not identify the perpetrators but said the army and police are investigating further.

Another news of kidnapping near the waters of Sulu in the Southern Philippines has attracted the attention of the media on Wednesday evening, when the wife of a tugboat crewman Charles, conveying her husband's condition which is one of the crew of 13 people on board. He reportedly called his wife to say that the boat had been taken hostage by a faction of the militant group of Abu sayyaf.

Seven people were taken out of the boat while the rest of six have been freed.

The kidnappers had reportedly demanded a ransom of 20 million ringgit (US$4,9 million) for release of the hostages.

This is the third incident in recent months involving the kidnapping of Indonesian sailors by Abu Sayyaf. The Southern part of the Philippines waters bordering with the Celebes sea in North Borneo. This area is known as a "new Somalia" for a series of kidnappings and pirate attacks involving terrorist group of Abu Sayyaf. These waterways are part of the major cruise lines for cargo ships in the region.

Separately, Samarinda Mayor, Syaharie jaang, has met with the executives of the company that owns the boat, Rusianto Bersaudara, and attempted to contact the kidnappers. The communcation is hampered by the language barrier because they could only speak Tagalog.



source:
TheJakartaPost