_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Philippines_______________
A series of killings
Hostage rescue provides some relief
The month of August began and ended with killings by Muslim separatists in the southern Philippines, with Catholics as the principal victims.
On August 2, hooded, armed men beheaded four people after kidnapping 27 villagers near a mainly Catholic town on the island of Basilan. The headless bodies of the four victims were found by the local police force, which immediately attributed the deaths to the Abu Sayyaf terror group. The police pointed out that the village was known for its opposition to the separatist claims promoted by Abu Sayyaf.
The terrorist group, which numbers about 1,000 soldiers, is fighting for an independent Muslim state in the south of the Philippines. As a way of raising funds and pressuring the government, the group has specialized in kidnapping. On May 27, Abu Sayyaf took 21 tourists hostage in a southern ocean resort.
The Philippine army’s efforts to eliminate Abu Sayyaf have produced scanty results, despite the deployment of 5,000 troops in the region. But in August a successful raid on one Abu Sayyaf camp brought the release of 13 hostages.
The news turned grim again on August 28, however, when an Irish missionary priest was shot and killed as he traveled between parishes in the southern Mindanao region. Father Rufus Halley was returning home from a meeting with local Muslim clerics when he was stopped by masked men, who shot him when he resisted their efforts to abduct him. Again, police quickly determined that Muslim extremists were responsible for the attack.
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