AFP: Abu Sayyaf recruiting female warriors

Abu Sayyaf bandits now appear to be recruiting female warriors, many of whom took part in the bloody clash in Basilan province last Wednesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Saturday. First Marine brigade commander Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero said a Marine soldier was forced to shoot dead a female warrior who tried to attack him during the fighting. "They are recruiting females into the ranks of the Abu Sayyaf ... By all indications that is happening," Guerrero said at a press conference at the Western Mindanao Command headquarters in Zamboanga City. Parts of the press conference were aired on government-run dzRB radio in Manila. He said they learned of the female warrior during the initial debriefing of the soldiers who were involved in the fighting. Guerrero said the female warrior was armed with M-16 and M-203 firearms, but added they have yet to get more details. "In the initial debriefing that was one of the revelations. We are still conducting debriefing (and we hope) we will have a good picture of how the enemy fights," he said. He said this was the second case involving a female warrior of the Abu Sayyaf after an encounter in Al-Barka town in Basilan Dec. 7 last year. At the time, he said the soldiers "also had revelations of women fighters in their ranks." Guerrero also said the military is ready for retaliatory attacks from the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for Wednesday’s bloody clash in Basilan. "That is expected of any armed group, we are prepared for that. This is a continuing effort of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to once and for all flush out the remaining terrorist elements in the province," he said. Parts of the press conference were aired on government-run dzRB radio in Manila. Guerrero said government troops are in high spirits because they know they have a major success against the Abu Sayyaf in the province. He also said local folk had been complaining against alleged atrocities by the Abu Sayyaf in the area. Local social welfare officials said at least 1,300 families in five villages in three towns of Basilan had been affected due to the fighting. The MILF, in a statement on its website, had quoted a “top leader" in Basilan who expressed readiness to fight all-out when attacked by government forces. The MILF had earlier vowed to stop recruiting children in the armed conflict after signing an action plan with the UNICEF. [See: MILF vows to stop recruiting kids in armed conflict] It added another clash took place Friday in Sitio Kurellem in Basilan, with both sides suffering casualties after more than an hour of fighting. "It is popularly known that Kurellem, Silangkum is an ASG stronghold, and that its neighboring barangays/villages are identified as MILF communities, which must be recognized and given necessary respect particularly by government forces pursuant to the letters, spirit and goodwill of the ongoing government-MILF peace process," the MILF said. - GMANews.TV