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Monday, September 29, 2014

German captives plead to be set free from Islamist group

MANILA (Reuters) - Two Germans being held by an Islamist group in the southern Philippines appealed to the Philippine and German governments to secure their release through a message on local radio on Monday, days after the militants threatened to kill them.

The Abu Sayyaf group has demanded that the German government stop supporting U.S. action against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and wants a ransom paid for the captives. It has said it would behead one of them if the demands are not met by Oct. 10.

"Hopefully, our government will do all they can to get me free," a male captive, who identified himself as a medical doctor, told a radio station based in Zamboanga City.

"We were sailing on our sailboat and unfortunately I was taken hostage," he said, adding that he was concerned for his health.

According to media reports, the two Germans were seized at gunpoint from a yacht between Malaysian Borneo and the southern Philippines in April.

They have previously been identified by Philippine military officials as Stefan Okonek, a doctor in his early 70s, and Henrike Dielen, in her mid-50s.

In the radio broadcast, a female captive appealed to the authorities to get them out soon, saying that "living in the jungle is also very dangerous because we can contract any tropical disease".

"I would also like to address the Philippine and German governments to do all they can because we are living in a difficult situation," she said. "I really wish to see my family again ... The situation here is very, very stressful."

Abu Sayyaf rose to prominence in the early 2000s by kidnapping foreigners. It has links with al Qaeda, although analysts and Philippine security sources say it has focused lately on kidnapping to get ransom money and on other criminal activities.

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