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| Three Abu Sayyaf Group bandits hand over three high-powered firearms to Lt. Col. Egverr Jonathan Abutin, commander of the Army's 18th Infantry Battalion (4th from left), when they surrender Monday (Aug. 31, 2020) in Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan province. (Photo from: 18th Infantry Battalion) |
[아시아뉴스통신=페이 기자] Three Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits surrendered to government authorities with their firearms, an Army official said Tuesday.
Lt. Col. Egverr Jonathan Abutin, commander of the Army's 18th Infantry Battalion (18IB), said the surrender of the ASG bandits Monday in the Basilan town of Ungkaya Pukan was a result of the Community Support Program on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (CSP-PCVE) initiated by the Army in the area.
Abutin said the three surrenderers also yielded three high-powered firearms. One of the surrenderers, alias Abu Sampohong, claimed that hardship and hunger in the mountains drove them to return to the fold of the law.
In addition, Sampohong was quoted by the 18IB as saying that the Army's peace initiatives in the province also convinced them to go back to their families.
