A RECENTLY posted video purportedly showing four hostages who were kidnapped in September by armed militants in the southern Philippines is still being verified but appears to be authentic, a Philippine military spokesman said Wednesday, Oct. 14.
“A technical team is validating it,” Col. Restituto Padilla Jr. said of the clip that was posted Twitter, according to The New York Times. “No group has been identified with finality, and none have claimed responsibility.”
The video was posted on Twitter on Sunday, Oct. 11, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks terrorist activities on the web. In the clip, the four hostages – three men and one woman – are shown sitting in a row on the ground, along with 10 masked men holding automatic weapons. One unmasked man is shown holding a machete to the neck of one hostage.
It further shows three hostages – two Canadians, Robert Hall and John Ridsdel, and one Norwegian, Kjartan Sekkingstad – begging for help from the Philippine and Canadian governments. The fourth person, a Filipino woman, Tess Flor, does not speak in the clip.
“To my family and friends, I am O.K., but I am in grave danger,” says a man in the clip who identifies himself as Hall. “I encourage you, please, to contact the Canadian government and ask them, plead with them to cooperate with the Philippine government to stop the bombings and the problems that are going on here.”
The hostage who had the machete against his neck, identified himself as Ridsdel.
“We beseech the Canadian government to please, please help us and the Philippine government … by stopping all of the operations that have been going on, like artillery fire which came near us,” he said.
The hostages were abducted on the evening of Sept. 21 at the Oceanview Resort on Samal Island, off the coast of Mindanao, according to the Philippine military.
At the end of the video, a masked man made the following demand to the Canadian and Philippine governments:
“Number one, that there must be no military operation and there must be no artillery attack and all of this harmful against us. Once you meet our requirements, then we can talk about negotiation and demand.”
While the kidnappers do not identify their affiliation in the clip, they appear to be members of Abu Sayyaf, said Matt Williams, country director in the Philippines for risk management and security firm Pacific Strategies and Assessments. The firm tracks insurgencies in the country.
“Every indication suggests that the video is authentic,” he said, according to the Times. “It is important not to link these latest kidnappings in the Philippines with jihadi movements like Islamic State. The Abu Sayyaf are all about the money and have little time for ideology.”
Williams further told the Times that previous ransom negotiations with Abu Sayyaf have taken several years.
The video was the first indication of what happened to the hostages and that they were still alive, according to The Associated Press.
Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs said the government was aware that two Canadian citizens were taken hostage, CNN reported.
“Canadian officials are in close contact with Filipino authorities and have been pursuing all appropriate channels to seek further information. The Government of Canada will not comment or release any information which may compromise ongoing efforts and risks endangering the safety of Canadian citizens abroad,” a spokesman said.
The Norwegian government confirmed it is aware of the video’s existence but declined to comment except to say that it is working with authorities and the Philippine government on the situation, Rune Bjastad, communications adviser and press contact for the Minister of Foreign affairs, told CNN.
The September kidnapping comes after a time of relative optimism in the southern Philippines, the Times reported. In 2012, the Philippine government reached a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which was hoped would result in greater security and prosperity in the area. However, approval of the deal has been delayed in the Philippine Congress, and the military has periodically battled other rebel groups that are against the agreement, according to the publication.
Philippine authorities pledged to bolster security in the south after the kidnapping in September. However, three weeks later in a separate incident, the Italian owner of a Mindanao pizzeria was kidnapped from the city of Dipolog. Police said they have not linked this situation to Abu Sayyaf, the Times reported.
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