More Trouble in Zamboanga

The US Embassy in Manila has posted a couple warnings recently about the danger of traveling to Zamboanga and other places in Mindanao, the most recent being in July, which I reposted here.

Zamboanga is ... er, different from anyplace else I've ever visited. I was there in April for a niece's wedding. As I've mentioned before, when I arrived, she told me that I was forbidden to leave my hotel without an escort; the concern being that white folks there have a tendency to get kidnapped. I (mostly) did as I was told, not wanting to cause any anxiety.

A lot of expats here laugh at Embassy warnings (Australia has issued some lately, as well), on the grounds that they're just a bunch of butt-covering bureaucrats. That characterization may well be true, but it looks today like the warnings may, in this case at least, have some validity.

Zambo is currently under attack from a group of Muslim extremists. At present the city is pretty much in lockdown mode, with an overnight curfew and with schools, government offices and most businesses closed again tomorrow.

As of Monday afternoon, six people have been reported killed and 24 wounded. Some 300 civilians were also held hostage by the rebel group.

I'm praying for the well-being of the people of Zamboanga, especially of course my family.

A map of Zamboanga City's center shows where hostages are being held by MNLF rebels in Bgy. Santa Catalina (middle icon), just four city blocks from city hall, where the rebels are purportedly intending to march their hostages as human shields so they can raise their flag. In their way are heavily armed troops and law enforcers facing a huge dilemma – will they confront the rebels and risk a massacre of hostages or allow the MNLF to reach city hall, signifying a victory for the Misuari-led guerrillas? The icon on the right marks the site of a firefight in the early hours of Monday in coastal Rio Hondo within the Zamboanga City boundary. That battle caused the death of at least one soldier, a member of the Navy's Special Operations Group.