Fmr Abu Sayyaf hostage blames Dutch man’s death on lack of gov’t effort

By Janene Pieters

Ewold Horn‘s death in the Philippines can be blamed on the Dutch government, according to Warren Rodwell from Australia, a former hostage of terrorist movement Abu Sayyaf. The fact that the 54-year-old Dutch man was still a hostage of Abu Sayyaf after seven years shows that the Dutch government did not put enough effort into getting him released, Rodwell said to Dagblad van het Noorden.

Horn was abducted by members of Abu Sayyaf during a bird watching trip on the Philippine islands in 2012. He was shot dead on Friday when he tried to escape during a firefight between the terrorist group and Philippine government forces.

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Source: nltimes.nl

Place Esscom under police, says former army man

Robin Augustin

PETALING JAYA: A retired army officer has suggested that the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) be placed under the purview of the police, amid reports that the initiative launched six years ago to enhance security in the area will be restructured.

Speaking to FMT, Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Ahmad Ghazali Abu Hassan, who is also a former professor at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia’s Department of Strategic Studies, said this is because Esscom’s core duties deal with the eradication of cross-border crimes.

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Source: freemalaysiatoday.com

Dutch hostage killed while trying to escape from militants in Philippines

MANILA (Reuters) – A Dutch photographer held hostage by Islamic State-linked militants in the Philippines since 2012 was killed on Friday by his captors when he tried to escape during a firefight on a remote southern island, the military said.

Ewold Horn, a wildlife photographer, was shot by his guards from the Abu Sayyaf group when he tried to flee during a clash between government troops and the militants, said Brigadier General Divino Rey Pabayo, commander of a Joint Task Force on Sulu island.

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Source: reuters.com

Maritime Security News: You may recall that only ten days ago, a Philippine National Police commander had claimed that Horn had joined the group. More here:
https://maritimesecurity.news.blog/2019/05/21/dutch-hostage-joins-abu-sayyaf/

AFP to deploy 1st Brigade Combat Team in Sulu for anti-ASG ops

By Priam Nepomuceno

MANILA — The military will deploy the 1st Brigade Combat Team (1BCT) to Sulu in line with ongoing efforts to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists.

“Now that the election period is over and national candidates have been proclaimed, we are redeploying forces to security challenged areas like Sulu Archipelago for focused military operations,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson, Marine Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in an interview with reporters Thursday.

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Source: pna.gov.ph

Sabah dusk-to-dawn sea curfew extended by another two weeks

By Stephanie Lee

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s dusk-to-dawn sea curfew will be extended for another two weeks until June 10, says Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah.

He said the extension of the 6pm to 6am curfew was needed due to continuous threats from cross-border criminals, including from kidnap-for-ransom groups.

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Source: thestar.com.my

The Deadly Evolution of Abu Sayyaf and the Sea

By Meghan Curran

On the morning of January 27, 2019, two bombs exploded inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Jolo on the Sulu Province in the southern Philippines. Tearing a hole through the cathedral during a Sunday service, the bombs claimed 20 lives, injured dozens more, and propelled Islamist extremism in the Philippines back into international headlines. In the aftermath of the blast, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte promised to “pursue to the ends of the Earth the ruthless perpetrators behind [the] dastardly crime,”as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the country’s notoriously violent Islamic separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. While President Duterte may not need to go to the “ends of the Earth” to put an end to the ASG-fueled terror, his government will certainly need to act beyond its own shores. Illicit maritime activities are at the root of ASG funding and operations, and ensuring the group’s defeat will require focused government efforts to improve maritime security in its area of operations.

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Source: cimsec.org

Dutch hostage joins Abu Sayyaf

SULU: Philippine National Police (PNP) Sulu Provincial Commander Pablo Labra reported Saturday that a Dutch hostage abducted by the Abu Sayyaf militants seven years has joined the terrorist group.

Identified as 57-year old Ewold Horn, Labra said the kidnap victim turned outlaw together with Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra were adopted by Abu Sayyaf militants and suspected MNLF members in Tawi-Tawi in 2012.

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Source:dailyexpress.com.my

US Coast Guard ship arrives in PH to boost both nations’ maritime security capabilities

By Betheena Kae Unite

An American vessel that will conduct several exercises and improve the maritime security capabilities of the United States Coast Guard and the Philippines’ arrived in Manila Wednesday.

The United States Coast Guard National Security Cutter Bertholf, with its commanding officer Captain John Discroll, arrived at Pier 15 in Manila, following the capability training exercise conducted by both nations’ Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea Tuesday.

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Source: news.mb.com.ph

PHL, Indonesian navies wrap up coordinated border patrol activities

The first leg of the Border Coordinated Patrol of the Philippine and Indonesian navies has ended, with the aim of securing the common border between the two countries and stop maritime and sea crimes including smuggling and piracy.

The patrol ships of both countries were expected to have reached their final point in the territorial waters of Indonesia along the Celebes Sea on Saturday.

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Source: gmanetwork.com

Sabah sea curfew extended yet another two weeks

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s dusk-to-dawn sea curfew which ends today (May 10) will be extended for another two weeks until May 26 (Sunday), says Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah.

He said the extension of the 6pm-to-6am curfew was needed due to continuous threats from cross-border criminals, including from kidnap-for-ransom groups.

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Source: thestar.com.my