A "lost command" of Filipino rebels freed kidnapped Irish missionary Fr Michael Sinnott early Thursday
morning Philippines time.
Fr Sinnott said a "lost command" of Moro guerrillas held him captive for almost a month in Mindanao, ABS-CBN News reports.
"They said they were lost command. The one in charge was Kikay," Fr Sinnott told reporters at Camp Navarro, Zamboanga City, where he was brought after being turned over by the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) ceasefire committee to their counterparts in the government peace panel.
Lost command is often used to identify a rogue MILF group. They are also called by authorities as "lawless MILF group."innott hopes to resume his ministry after being released by kidnappers who had held him for a month.
He told reporters he was kept in "very primitive" conditions in two areas, one a swampy area "with mud all around us." He said he could not move about and was forced to sit in a hammock all day with his guard, UCA News says.
He had also been kept in the jungle and at one point was forced to march for around eight hours through the mountains.
Fr Sinnott said he did not think anyone would want to kidnap him again, as he had slowed his captors down.
"I'm an old man, and I had a hard time walking," the priest said, laughing.
He said he would like to continue working in Pagadian diocese where he has served most of his 42 years in the Philippines.
Earlier, The Inquirer reported that Lieutenant General Ben Dolorfino, Western
Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) chief, said Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) members, who were tasked to help free Sinnot, turned over the
priest to Ambassador Rafael Seguis, chairman of the government peace
panel, and Major General Reynaldo Sealana, head of the government’s
Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities.
"We got Fr Sinnott!" Wesmincom spokesman Major Ramon David Hontiveros said in a text message.
The report of Sinnott's release was also relayed by Ireland's Foreign Minister Michael Martin late Wednesday Belfast time.
"He has been handed over to a clinic where he is being looked after and medically checked," Martin said.
"Sinnot has just been freed. We turned him over to the government
around 4:30 a.m. at Sangali village in Zamboanga City," Iqbal told the
Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.
Asked about the identities of those behind the kidnapping, Iqbal
said: "I cannot give you exact details because it’s part of the deal we
made with them."
There was no ransom paid to Sinnot’s kidnappers, Iqbal said.
SOURCE
Freed Father Sinnott wants to resume ministry (UCA News)
Irish priest Sinnott freed (The Inquirer)
Bishop calls for justice in beheading case (UCA News)