Child kidnapped in Philippines

January 12, 2001
Web posted at: 3:07 AM HKT (1907 GMT)

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- A six-year-old girl has been seized from her house by four armed men suspected of belonging to Philippine Muslim separatist groups, military officials said.

The girl, who has a Scottish stepfather, was taken from her home at Basilan, 910 kilometres south of the capital Manila, at gunpoint after her mother was unable to find enough money to meet the gunmen's demands.

The youngster, Eiman Razul, was whisked away by boat by suspected Abu Sayyaf separatists, according to armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Generoso Senga on Thursday.

The Abu Sayyaf burst onto the world stage when they captured 21 people, including foreign tourists, from Malaysia's Sipadan dive resort in April. All of the group have been freed except for a Filipino employee at the resort.

The separatists have also released two journalists from Germany and France who had been covering the hostage crisis while two members of a French television crew escaped.

U.S. citizen Jeffrey Schilling, who was taken hostage in August, is still in captivity.

The Abu Sayyaf, who operate on Jolo island off Mindanao, received millions of dollars in ransom for the French, German, South African and Finnish nationals they have released.

Senga added: "The real identity of the abductors is still being established but we are also acknowledging that the Abu Sayyaf is a natural suspect.

"We also cannot discount the possibility that the incident was perpetrated by the MILF or any other kidnap-for-ransom group in that province," he added.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front operates on Mindanao in its fight to establish a separate Islamic state in the mostly Catholic Philippines.

The kidnappers barged into the girl's house where she and her mother were watching television, said Fredesvindo Covarrubias, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) - Civil Relations Group in Mindanao.

The suspects first asked for water, and then demanded 100,000 pesos ($1,923) but the mother could only produce 1,000 pesos.

Armed with M-16 rifles, the suspects seized the girl at gunpoint and fled to a river where two motor boats were waiting.

The abducted girl, who has a Palestinian father, is not a British national, the Foreign Office in London said.

"Our embassy in Manila is in touch with the Philippines authorities. Although the child is not British, we will try to find out what we can. But we don't have a formal role," the Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

Philippine military officials were not immediately able to confirm or deny the British findings.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Philippine hostage releases applauded at home
September 9, 2000
Hostages freed from Philippines flown to safety
September 9, 2000
Philippine rebels renew threat to kill American hostage
August 30, 2000
Philippine rebels begin hostage release
August 18, 2000
Five of 12 international hostages freed in Philippines
August 27, 2000

See related sites about East Asia
East Asian media sites

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.