Death toll of political abduction climbs to 46: Philippine military

菲律宾劫持案遇害者达46人 幸存者指省长系元凶

菲律宾军方24日说，安全部队当天天黑前发现了25具日前遭武装分子绑架的人的遗体，他们大多是被近距离枪杀后集体掩埋的，加上23日发现的21具遗体，这起发生在菲南部的绑架和屠杀事件已经造46人遇害。

这起骇人听闻的绑架和屠杀事件发生在南部棉兰老地区的马京达瑙省，遇害者中包括多名当地政治人物和新闻工作者。菲军方和舆论指出，这起事件与明年将进行的地方选举直接有关

在惨案发生前，曼古达达图曾表示他计划于2010年5月竞选马京达瑙省省长。23日，他的夫人和亲戚代表他前往选举委员会所在地递交相关材料。

布劳纳中校说，马京达瑙省现任省长安达尔·安帕图安的私人民兵部队直接制造了这起事件，而为首者就是安帕图安的儿子小安帕图安。



Philippine security forces on Tuesday recovered a total of 25 more bodies from a village in Ampatuan town in southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, bringing the total number of fatalities from Monday's pre-election violence to 46.

Lt. Col. Rolando Nerona, commander of the Army's 46th Infantry Battalion, told reporters that 24 of the new recoveries were dug up from graves, while the 25th, a woman, was hidden under some of the 21 bodies which were found sprawled on the ground or inside their vehicles Monday afternoon.



"Our last accounting showed there are 46 (dead) already," said Nerona. However, the official could not immediately say the identities of the victims. "Twenty-two were found above ground while 24 were dug up today," he said.

Nerona said the digging operations were stopped after sunset. "It's already dark, it will resume tomorrow."



Though political violence is common in the Philippines, the scale and nature of Monday's killing shocked the nation.

Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Jesus Dureza described the assassination as a "gruesome massacre unequaled in recent history". He earlier recommended the state of emergency to be put in place to ensure "everyone be disarmed".

Maguindanao is part of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao,a Muslims-dominating area created by a peace pact signed between the government and a large Muslim rebel group in 1996. Clan wars in Mindanao are often fatal as the region is awash with loose arms.

The dominance of Amputuan family in Maguindanao was not challenged over the past decade. The family reportedly owns a private army composed of 100 fully armed militiamen.