JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed thanks and appreciation to all parties that have been involved in the efforts to release the hostages so far including the Philippine government. Widodo also reiterated the importance of sea security in the border areas when announcing the release of 10 Indonesian ship crew members held hostage by Abu Sayyaf militant group. In view of that, a meeting relating to it would be held on May 5 […]
Tag: Indonesian sailors
Indonesian sailors home after Philippine kidnap ordeal
by Olivia Rondonuwu JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Ten Indonesian sailors held hostage by Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants returned home Sunday after being freed in the southern Philippines, less than a week after the gunmen beheaded a Canadian captive. About five weeks after being abducted, the 10 tugboat crew turned up outside the house of the provincial governor on the remote Philippine island of Jolo. They flew back to Jakarta later the same day, arriving on […]
Gunmen kidnap four Indonesian sailors off Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Gunmen have abducted four Indonesian sailors and shot and wounded one crew member on the high seas off the east coast of Malaysia’s Sabah state, waters where Abu Sayyaf militants are known to operate, a senior police official said Saturday. If the Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf is confirmed to be behind the kidnapping off Borneo, it would be their third such hostage-taking in as many weeks and comes amid a surge […]





