MANILA: Philippine negotiators put off until Friday talks to secure the release of 57 people taken hostage by armed mountain tribesmen from a school in the troubled southern region of Mindanao. The hostages were being held in a remote forested area near the town of Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur province. Police said the gunmen had seized 75 people, but later freed 18, including all 17 children.
Authorities described the gunmen as former members of a civilian militia who had taken to banditry. Some officials said they could have taken hostages because they were being pursued by police after a gunbattle with a rival tribal group on Wednesday.
Other officials said the group was demanding the dropping of cases against them, action against the rival group and media coverage. Negotiators had left the mountain site to return to town and would resume talks on Friday, officials said.
Earlier Lino Calingasan, regional police chief, said all remaining hostages were adults.
“Negotiations are ongoing. We are trying to find out how the others can be released,” he told Reuters. “It is a good signal, that they are willing to negotiate. We are hoping this will be resolved peacefully.” Last month, 57 people, including 30 journalists, were killed after being stopped at a checkpoint in Maguindanao province while on their way to file a candidate’s nomination for elections.
The killings prompted a crackdown in the southern Philippines and the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao last week.
