THE United States and Britain embassies in Manila have warned their citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Mindanao due to continued terrorist threats, insurgent activities and kidnappings.
In its advisory issued Friday, the US Department of State warned US citizens to defer non-essential travel to the Sulu Archipelago, due to the high threat of kidnapping, increased threat of maritime kidnappings and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism there.
“Avoid travelling to the southern Sulu Sea region from the southern tip of Palawan, along the coast of Sabah, Malaysia and the islands of the Sulu Archipelago, up to Zamboanga City, Mindanao. Terrorist and insurgent groups based in the Sulu Archipelago continue to target foreigners for kidnapping in the Eastern Sabah province of Malaysia and in the southern Sulu Sea area,” the US advisory said.
The British government issued a similar travel warning, adding that Abu Sayyaf militants have been suspected of seizing 18 Indonesian and Malaysian crewmen in separate attacks on three slow-moving tugboats, sparking a security alarm in the volatile region.
Separatist and terrorist groups continue to carry out attacks and kidnappings against civilians, foreigners, political leaders, and Philippine security forces in Mindanao. Since January 2015, at least 15 separate kidnappings have been reported across Mindanao.
In September 2015, assailants belonging to the Abu Sayyaf Group kidnapped four individuals, including three foreigners, from the popular resort island of Samal, a 15 minute boat ride from Davao City. There have been no reports of U.S. citizens in Mindanao targeted specifically for their nationality; however, general threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners throughout Mindanao remain a concern.
Although U.S. government officials in the Philippines travel to Mindanao for official business without incident, the US Embassy has imposed strict restrictions on all but the most essential travel to the area, and Embassy employees must receive special authorization from Embassy security officials to travel to any location in Mindanao or the Sulu Archipelago.
