“We beseech the Canadian government to please, please help us, and the Philippine government to help us by stopping all of the military operations that have been going on”, one man, who identifies himself as Canadian John Ridsdel, says.
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Despite the armed men in the video standing in front of two black flags and yelling “Allahu akbar”, or “God is great” in Arabic, it is important not to conflate their actions with those of prominent Islamist groups operating in the Middle East, like Islamic State, according to Matt Williams, the Philippines country director for Pacific Strategies and Assessments. “I encourage you please to contact the Canadian government and ask them, plead with them to work with the Philippine government to stop the bombings and the problems here”.
Army Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado said the military would reject any demands from the militants.
A group of Filipino militants aligned with the Islamic State have posted a video showing four kidnapped foreign nationals.
“I am Sekkinstad, to the owner of the owner of Oceanview Marina, please, please meet their demands or else we’ll be possibly dead”.
Reports have emerged that the current Philippines military offensive in Jolo, has forced the Abu Sayyaf gunmen to move all the hostages to safer ground in the jungle. I know that there’s people that can find a way to do this.
The Canadian government told Reuters it was “pursuing all appropriate channels” to get more information about the kidnapping.
“Please stop all of these operations so…”
A militant masked with scarf and sunglasses reiterates hostages’ request in English, saying negotiations can commence once their demands are met. The group then raises their guns while chanting in Arabic.
“Once you meet our requirements, then we can talk about negotiation and demands”, the man says.
Bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and other acts of violence in the region have been attributed to Abu Sayyaf for decades in the group’s fight for independence from the Republic of the Philippines.
“It may be a mock up scenario, it could be taken elsewhere and made it appear to be on Jolo to stop our operations”, he said about the video appeal of the hostages. The last similar incident occurred in 2001 when an Islamist separatist group attempted to kidnap tourists at another resort.
The video was the first indication of what happened to the abducted four and that they were still alive.
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“We are now studying and evaluating the video and its content and can not provide any further comment on the matter until such time that we have our thorough assessment”, said Col. Restituto Padilla, spokesperson for the AFP. They said the military and police were assessing details in the video to try to identify the kidnappers and determine their location.
