Sayyaf using coercion to recruit child warriors

Two commanders of the Abu Sayyaf Group have been resorting to force and intimidation to recruit “child warriors,” a military officer said.

Young boys were being recruited by the bandits either by force and intimidation or promises of monetary reward, said Maj. Harold Cabunoc, Army spokesman.

Col. Ricardo Visaya, commander of the Army’s 104th Brigade, said the two bandit-commanders, Furuji Indama and Nurhassan Jamiri, became notorious for their coercive tactics in recruiting “child warriors.”

Indama and his group figured in the October 18 killing and mutilation of six of the 19 soldiers of the Army Special Forces in Al-barka town of Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf fighers were supported by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander Long Malat and his deputy, Dan Laksaw Asnawi, the military said.

Indama ang Asnawi were responsible for the beheading of 10 of the 14 Marines on July 10, 2007, also in Al-Barka.

“We’ve already asked help from concerned authorities including the DSWD to monitor and prevent the recruitment of young boys into the bandits’ group,” Cabunoc said. “They can help persuade the parents not to allow their children as pawns in the armed clashes. This is a violation of the laws of armed conflict,” Cabunoc said, citing Section 25 of the republic Act 7610 that provides that children must not take part in armed hostilities.

Visaya said there were incidents where “child recruits” were seen holding firearms during encounters with government soldiers.

On Nov. 15, Scout Rangers captured three bandits in Sumusip town. One of the captured bandits was a 12-year old boy who was armed with an Armalite rifle, the military said. –Florante S. Solmerin, Manila Standard Today