Security forces in the southern Philippines arrested a Muslim preacher yesterday on suspicion that he was a member of the Abu Sayyaf extremist group, prompting a swift protest from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Police officials said soldiers nabbed Ustadz Hussein Abidin on Thursday at a bus depot in Cotabato City on his arrival from the province of North Cotabato.| “He is being interrogated and military intelligence reports had linked him to the Abu Sayyaf. The preacher is allegedly a bomb maker...” |
The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with the government, said the military got the wrong man. “Ustadz Abedin is not a terrorist. He is a member of the MILF and active in peace dialogues in Mindanao,” said Eid "Lipless Eddie" Kabalu, spokesman of the MILF.
Kabalu also disowned the 16 armed men who surrendered to the military in Zamboanga del Norte yesterday. According to the military’s Southern Command, the 16 rebels surrendered voluntarily and were undergoing debriefing. “They say they wanted to live in peace with their families,” Marine Lt. Col. Abid Bajunaid told Arab News. Kabalu said the armed men were definitely not their members. “We have no reports from our leaders in Zamboanga del Norte about the surrender of their soldiers. There is no reason to surrender,” he said.