The govt pulled about 800 police and militiamen out of a cordon surrounding kidnappers holding three Red Cross workers on a remote southern island on Saturday, partially giving in to the Moro militants' demands. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno told reporters the government had made a “difficult” decision to abandon positions that would allow the Abu Sayyaf rebels access to the island's coastline, but kept about 1,500 other troops posted along an inland highway. Puno had said on Friday that the government would not give in to the rebels' demand to pull back from positions on remote Jolo island. The Red Cross staff have been held for over two months. “We are taking risks,” Puno said after meeting security officials at the southern port city of Zamboanga. Other officials said the navy would patrol the waters off Jolo but the cordon would not be as tight. Officials said Puno was hoping the partial agreement to the rebel demand would allow for fresh negotiations for the release of the three members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba. They were kidnaped on Jan. 15 after inspecting a prison on Jolo and are being held by an estimated 100 heavily armed rebels in a 5 sq km area in the island's rugged jungles. “We are giving them a breathing space where they feel they're safe to negotiate,” Puno said. “It's a difficult decision and not all agreed to the decision.” The turnaround came after ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger spoke to Philippines Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and asked him to ensure that the authorities do everything in their power to save the hostages. “The ICRC's priority is that Mary Jean, Eugenio and Andreas remain safe and that they be able to return to their families, who miss them desperately,” Kellenberger said in a statement on the ICRC website (www.icrc.org). The Abu Sayyaf has said it was not demanding any ransom for the release of the three Red Cross workers but asked only for security forces to pull out of the island. 27 killed in clashes Meanwhile, troops backed by artillery and armored vehicles clashed with Moro separatist rebels in the south, leaving 20 guerrillas and seven soldiers dead, the military said Saturday. Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce said troops from the army's 601st Brigrade had been checking reports that rebels under a rogue commander of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front were massing in a hamlet in Bialong village when fighting erupted with about 80 guerrillas before dawn Friday and dragged on for at least eight hours.
