U.S. hostage ‘seriously ill’
An American hostage held by Muslim terrorists in the Philippines is seriously ill, a spokesman for the rebel Abu Sayyaf group said today.
Abu Sabaya said Jeffrey Schilling was coughing blood and urged the government to immediately negotiate for his release.
Sabaya gave the government 72 hours, from 2200 GMT tonight, to negotiate the release of Schilling and Filipino dive resort worker Roland Ullah.
In an interview with Radio Mindanao Network, a radio station in southern Zamboanga city, Sabaya demanded that the government halt a military offensive against his group in southern Jolo Island and provide safety guarantees to rebel leaders who would negotiate with government officials.
Acting Defence Secretary Eduardo Ermita rejected any negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf and said they should free their hostages unconditionally.
Schilling, a Muslim convert, was taken by the rebels after he visited their camp in Jolo on August 31.
Schilling was accompanied by girlfriend Ivy Osani, Sabaya’s cousin. Osani was allowed to go after the rebels seized Schilling.
Military officials have been puzzled by Schilling’s real relations with the Abu Sayyaf but said they still consider him a hostage and would continue efforts to rescue him.
The military began a massive offensive last year against the guerrillas in Jolo, about 580 miles south of Manila, to prevent more kidnappings and defeat the group.
Abu Sayyaf is the smallest and most radical of the Islamic separatist groups fighting for independence in the southern Philippines.
On January 10, four suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels abducted April Grant, the six-year-old stepdaughter of Briton Frank Grant, from her Philippines home.
