18/09/2013 10:10
Police chief abducted by Muslim rebels in Philippines is freed
The police chief of a city in the southern Philippines was briefly held captive Tuesday by Muslim rebels who have been fighting security forces for the past several days, CNN reported.
Senior Superintendent Jose Chiquito Malayo was negotiating with the rebels for the release of more civilians Tuesday morning "when he was himself abducted at gunpoint and held hostage by the rebel group," the Philippine National Police said.
His capture took place in a coastal area of mangroves near Zamboanga City, a major trading hub that has been paralyzed for more than a week after the rebels took large numbers of people hostage.
Malayo re-emerged later Tuesday, bringing with him 23 suspected rebels who had surrendered, officials said.
That drama came on the same day that authorities announced significant progress against the rebels. Officials said that about 150 hostages had been rescued.
It was unclear how many people remained captive.
Since Friday, the Philippine armed forces have been carrying out an operation to try to "constrict" the rebels, who came ashore early last week and took as many as 180 hostages in several coastal districts. Military attack helicopters fired rockets at rebel positions Monday.
The recent violence has significantly disrupted life in Zamboanga, a mainly Christian city on the southwestern tip of Mindanao, the southernmost island in the Philippines.
The crisis has increased fears of instability in a region where the Philippine central government is pursuing a new peace plan after decades of unrest.