Two Indonesian fishermen kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf Militant Group released

News24xx.com - Two Indonesian fishermen kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in waters off Sabah, Malaysia more than a year ago have been released by the militant group.  Indonesia's foreign ministry said the men were released on Friday (Jan 19) from where they were held in Sulu, southern Philippines.

The Indonesian consulate general in Davao and the Indonesian embassy in Manila are coordinating with local authorities to facilitate the return of the two Indonesians.

"The two Indonesians are La Utu bin Raali and La Hadi bin La Adi. They were fishermen from Wakatobi, southeast Sulawesi and were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf from two different fishing boats on Nov 5, 2016 near the waters of Kertam, Sabah, Malaysia," said Director of Protection of Indonesian Citizens and BHI of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs M Iqbal.

Iqbal said, La Utu and La Hadi are at the Joint Task Force base in Sulu, Southern Philippines. If weather permits, it is planned that Saturday (20/1) this afternoon they will be flown by helicopter to Zamboanga to be handed over to the Consul General of RI Davao, representing the Government of Indonesia.

"Both will soon be repatriated to Indonesia after recovery and after getting exit clearance from the Philippines immigration," said Iqbal.

An annual report by the International Maritime Bureau released recently showed that 22 incidents were recorded in the Philippines in 2017, a jump from 10 in 2016.

These include kidnappings of crew in the southern Philippines, with militants targeting seafarers in the strife-torn region, abducting them and often demanding ransoms for their release.

In June last year, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines launched joint maritime patrols to fight terrorism and transnational crimes in the Sulu Sea.