Muslim rebels released dozens of hostages Wednesday in exchange for safe passage through Philippine military forces that have besieged them for more than 24 hours.
They had released 21 hostages earlier. Then, after enduring a series of assaults by war planes, helicopter gunships and infantry, and wading through all-night negotiations, about 250 heavily armed rebels loyal to renegade Muslim region Gov. Nur Misuari began boarding trucks that were to take them to safety.
They left behind the hostages, estimated earlier at 40 to 60 people, and government negotiators took custody of them at around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Government negotiator Abraham Iribani said the rebels would be allowed to leave the southern city of Zamboanga and go to neighboring Zamboanga del Sur province. It was not clear why the largely rural province was chosen as their destination.
Under the agreement, the military also freed about 10 rebels captured in fighting Tuesday.
Rebel leader Julhambri Misuari, nephew of the arrested governor, told DZMM radio that he was releasing the hostages in exchange for a guarantee of safe passage.
Police Supt. Demetrio Maylas Jr. said police and soldiers would escort the guerrillas - who were still armed with grenade launchers, machine guns and assault rifles - out of Zamboanga.
The rebels seized the hostages, including entire families, from communities close to the Cabatangan Muslim regional government compound, where the rebels were holed up in a heavily fortified base that was surrounded by the military. The guerrillas moved the hostages Tuesday to several houses in the nearby Pasonanca district on the outskirts of Zamboanga, a city of 750,000.
About 80 guerrillas guarded the hostages while another unit battled troops at the sprawling Cabatangan compound nearby that was pounded by bomber aircraft and helicopter gunships.
Fighting ended around dawn Wednesday and the two rebel units were allowed to merge before handing over the hostages and leaving.
The fighting left 25 guerrillas, one soldier and one civilian dead and an unknown number of others wounded, including 19 civilians, said military spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan.
The rebels belong to a faction of a separatist Muslim group, the Moro National Liberation Front, that fought the government until a peace deal was struck five years ago.
Gov. Misuari - who lost the MNLF leadership earlier this year and was about to lose the governor's post - has been charged with rebellion for allegedly fomenting an attack last week on an army base to disrupt elections for his successor. He was arrested Saturday in Malaysian waters while fleeing the Philippines, and his followers had been told Monday to leave the government complex without their weapons. Most refused.
The wrenchingly poor southern Philippines is home to the predominantly Roman Catholic country's 5 million-strong Muslim minority and has repeatedly been the site of bloody conflict for decades.
Florita Orquito, a 43-year-old hostage who escaped amid the fighting, told reporters the rebels moved quietly in the middle of the night into neighborhoods near the 150-acre government complex where they had been allowed to have a base and took hostages before gunfire and explosions began rocking the city.
(China Daily November 29, 2001)
