Armed men kidnap Red Cross staff

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 10

Armed men kidnap Red Cross staff

NZPA-AP Manila Seven Red Cross staff members, two of them Swiss, have been kidnapped in a Muslim area of Mindanao island, the official Philippines news agency reported yesterday. The agency, quoting military officials, said the team was abducted on Tuesday afternoon by armed men in the town of Mulonlo, in Lanao del Sur province, about 830 km south of Manila. The police identified the two Swiss as Alex Braunwalder and Jacky Sudan. The others were five Filipino women nurses. There was no word on the reason for the kidnapping. Muslim

rebel groups are active in the area.

Last July a Swiss tourist, Mr Hans Kuenzli, was kidnapped by Muslim pirates in western Mindanao and was held until his release in October. The kidnapping happened as Government negotiators were holding talks with a Muslim rebel leader, Nur Misuari, in the Sulu Islands in an effort to prevent war in the area. Mr Misuari, head of Moro National Liberation (M.N.L.F.), has threatened to wage a new war against the Government of President Corazon Aquino unless they are granted full autonomy in Mindanao.