Philippine President Rodríguez Duttle last Friday (January 27) pleaded with Muslim separatist groups in the country to deny shelter for militants linked to Iraq and the Islamic State of Syria (ISIS), warning that the war would put civilians in Danger.
His appeal came a day after his defense minister said foreign intelligence reports showed that a leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group was getting instructions from the ISIS to expand in the Philippines, in the strongest signs, but linked with Middle Eastern militants .
Mr. Duttle said that he could no longer contain the “pollution” of extremism and urged the two Muslim separatist rebel groups, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front, to resist the progress of the Islamic State.
“I sincerely ask, I plead with MNLF and MILF not to provide asylum to the terrorists in your area,” he told the troops at his home town of Mindanao.
“Because if this happens, we will be forced to chase them within your territory, which may mean trouble for all of us, and I do not want that to happen.”
“The government followed them, they did wrong, they killed a lot of innocent people.
Mainly the southern part of the Christian Philippines, has been a hotbed of Muslim insurgency for decades, but Mr. Dutte feared that some smaller groups and split factions could pledge allegiance to Islam that could host Iraqi fighters out of Iraq and Syria.
They include the Maute Group in Lanute del Sur and Abu Sayyaf in the Sulu Islands near Malaysia.
Abu Sayyaf, which means “sword sword”, is notorious pirates and kidnappers and beheaded ransom has not paid for the foreign hostages.
It uses the ISIS logo in online hostage videos.
