The Abu Sayaff who abducted Norwegian national Sekkingstad along with two foreigners and one Filipina a year ago, freed their remaining hostage last Saturday (Sept, 17) around 2 p.m.in Patikul Sulu.
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Sekkingstad was released by Abu Sayyaf Saturday and handed to another Muslim rebel group in Sulu, a remote archipelago known as a militant hideout, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s peace advisor told AFP.
Four hostages held by Abu Sayaff in the Philippines, including a Norwegian man who has been held for nearly a year, were freed this weekend, military sources said.
Dureza added that they also received three abducted Indonesians, who were then turned over to a representative of the Indonesian government in Jolo on Sunday.
Duterte credited the safe release of Sekkingstad and 3 Indonesian hostages of the Abu Sayyaf to the efforts of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari, Chief Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza, and former Sulu governor Sakur Tan.
Sekkingstad and Dureza then flew to the southern city of Davao to meet Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Sekkingstad and three others were taken from a marina in the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte province on September 21 past year.
Brende said authorities in both Norway and the Philippines had been working on Sekkingstad’s release all week but “we wouldn’t set our joy free before Sekkingstad was confirmed to be well” and out of the clutches of Abu Sayyaf.
The military insisted Monday that a ransom had not been paid for the release of any of the hostages, including the two Filipinos who were seized by gunmen in Patikul town August 6.
The release of the Filipino telecom workers came a day after Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Indonesian fishermen Teo Doros Kofong, Lorence Koten and Emmanuel Arakian were freed on Saturday.
The Indonesian minister denied reports that a 10 million peso ($209,000) ransom was paid for the release of the fishermen, stressing “we stick to the no ransom payment method”. They were taken on July 9 this year from the Malaysian state of Sabah, he said.
Sekkingstad told journalist that he, Hall and Ridsdel had been treated as slaves by the Abu Sayyaf and were often dodging bullets by attacking government forces.
They said cooperation with Manila would continue until Sekkingstad was brought to safety.
Meanwhile, another Indonesian was released Sunday night, together with two Filipino telecommunications technicians.
Padilla reiterated that the military’s mission was very specific-to degrade the capability of the Abu Sayyaf to launch or conduct its activities.
The government of the Philippines said it did not pay the group and was unaware of any payment made by other parties.
Two Canadians taken hostage at the same time, John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, were later beheaded by the group after a ransom demand of about P300 million was not met.
The Abu Sayyaf is a radical offshoot of a Muslim separatist insurgency in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines that has claimed more than 120,000 lives since the 1970s.
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The government maintain a no ransom policy.
