The Philippine President, Gloria Arroyo, has given her security forces permission to seal off an entire province in the south of the country in their efforts to kill or recapture 19 escaped prisoners. Fifty-three prisoners escaped from a jail in the province of Basilan on Saturday, including at least eight suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf.
| Who trained your jailors? Yemen? |
The authorities say they have since killed nine of the fugitives and recaptured 25.
| Huuum, shot escaping, huh? If it turns out that the 9 deaders include all 8 of the Abu gang I may have to revise that Yemen crack. |
In a written statement, President Gloria Arroyo told the security forces to get the fugitives first and argue later about who was to blame for their escape. She said that if it was necessary to cordon off the entire province of Basilan, so be it.
| She's still burning from al-Ghozi getting away. |
Troops and police are continuing their search for the missing prisoners, several of whom are believed to have fled towards the mountainous forested interior of the island, where the Abu Sayyaf once had their headquarters. Several of the prisoners who have been killed or recaptured by the security forces are suspected Abu Sayyaf members, but so are some of those still at large.
| Uh huh, wonder if they have a GPS chip imbedded in their heads. |
Mrs Arroyo has ordered an investigation into the mass escape. The armed forces have said that they had previously warned the jail authorities that an escape attempt was imminent.
| It's a Philippine jail, of course a escape was imminent. |
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