ZAMBOANGA CITY--An Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) machine gunner based on the eastern side of Sulu province has surrendered to the government forces, officials said Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, Joint Task Force (JTF) Sulu commander, identified the ASG surrenderer as Akri Bauddin Abdulhamsi, 22, who yielded an M-16 Armalite rifle.
Abdulhamsi surrendered Monday to the Army's 4th Marine Brigade headed by Col. Hernanie Songano, said Gonzales, who is also the Army's 11th Infantry Division commander.
Gonzales said Abdulhamsi was a follower of slain ASG sub-leader Hairula Abduraja and has served as the machine gunner of a certain ASG sub-leader Tista.
Songano said the ASG based on the eastern side of Sulu province is now leaderless after sub-commanders Hatib Munap Binda and Ismael Barahama were killed in a firefight last month.
This was the reason, he said, for the surrender of the group's followers recently.
“So just like what is happening in other parts of the province, the ASG in our area of operation is experiencing a vacuum in their leadership,” Songano said.
Earlier this month, 36 ASG members and supporters surrendered to Gonzales and Col. Ruben Candelario, the former 4th Marine Brigade commander.
This was followed by the surrender of two ASG sub-leaders and 15 followers to the JTF-Sulu.
“We promise that the returnees will be treated fairly and will be given a chance for a new beginning. The JTF-Sulu, line government agencies, and local government units are always coordinating and collaborating on how the returnees could be reintegrated to the community,” Gonzales said. (PNA)
