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 | Tuesday, May 02, 2000, updated at 10:55(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Manila Forms Group to Deal With Hostage CrisisThe Philippine government said Monday that it has formed a task force to ensure unified and coordinated efforts in securing the safe release of 21 people kidnapped on April 23 from an island in Malaysia and now being held hostage in Sulu.Presidential National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre said Cabinet Cluster E, which handles political affairs and national security concerns, has designated Secretary Orlando Mercado of the Department of National Defense as the task force's overall head. Aguirre told reporters in the Presidential Palace that the group will closely coordinate with the negotiating team headed by Governor Nur Misuari of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Mercado on his part said Misuari remains the "captain ball" of efforts to ensure the hostages' safe release from the Abu Sayyaf group. The coordinating group under Mercado will include a public information team to provide reports on the Sulu kidnapping situation to the public, Aguirre said. A special security task force, Aguirre said, will also be on standby to "undertake any kind of security operations in support of the negotiations" being conducted by Misuari. The hostages held by the armed group in Sulu Province in the southern Philippines include several foreigners and two Filipinos. Meanwhile, Mercado said the military continues to scour Basilan Province for signs of 27 other civilians taken hostage by the extremist group Abu Sayyaf on March 20. The safety and welfare of the hostages remain the government's paramount concern and that is why the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) have been proceeding with caution in conducting their rescue operations, he added. Mercado said the military gained control of the Abu Sayyaf camp in Hill 898, Sumisip town, at noon Monday as part of the rescue operations for the hostages, which started on April 22. "The AFP continue to scour the camp carefully and during rescue operations," Mercado said, adding that the AFP had 10 troops killed in action and 56 wounded because of shrapnel wounds from booby traps and landmines. Recovered from the Abu Sayyaf lair, Mercado said, were several firearms, ammunition, and 100 sacks of rice.
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