Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday abducted an Italian employee of a non-government organisation in a part of the southern Philippines in which Muslim separatists operate, officials said. The man was identified as Andrea Cianferoni, in his early 50s, who heads the local unit of Movimondo – an Italian organisation helping communities in conflict areas.Cianferoni was driving with two Filipino companions in Lanao del Norte province in the main southern island of Mindanao when heavily armed men wearing masks stopped them, said provincial government spokesman Richel Umel. The three were forced to walk several kilometers before the Filipinos were freed, said Marine Colonel Ben Delorfino, whose unit is based in Lanao province. Delorfino said it was not clear who was behind the abduction but authorities had received reports that the Italian had been taken to an area controlled by the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).There were no immediate report of any ransom demand. The MILF has been waging a rebellion since 1978 but has signed a truce with Manila and is to begin formal peace talks after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ends this month. “It is safe to say that the kidnappers were unidentified but we know they went inside an MILF territory,” Delorfino told AFP. Full Story
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