Abductors Threaten Mass Killing

Muslim rebels holding 20 tourists--including three Americans--in the southern Philippines have threatened a mass killing if they come under military assault, a radio station reported today.

The DXRZ radio station said it had received a call from Abu Sabaya, a spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf rebels, and quoted him as saying, “We will not think twice to conduct mass killing once the military [launches] offensive operations.”

Abu Sabaya also allowed American Martin Burnham to deliver a message.

“We are safe, and we are appealing for peaceful negotiations,” Burnham said. “They are treating us well.”

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she would not give in to ransom demands and instead offered a $2-million reward for the capture of rebel leaders.

“I am ready to do everything to crush the bandits, to allow the hostages to safely return to their families and to bring back peace,” Arroyo said on national television.

The group kidnapped three Americans and 17 Filipinos from an upscale resort in Palawan province Sunday.

Burnham and his wife, Gracia, who went to the resort to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, are Protestant missionaries who have lived in the Philippines since 1986. They are from Wichita, Kan.

The third American was identified as Guillermo Sobero of Corona, who was to celebrate his 40th birthday today. The other victims are 13 Philippine tourists, including an 8-year-old boy, and four resort workers.

In Corona, a woman who identified herself as Sobero’s wife, Fanny, described him as a construction worker and the father of three boys, ages 6, 3 and 2. For their sake, she said, she hopes he is released unharmed.