JAKARTA: Indonesian and Philippine authorities have arrested several people suspected of links to militants who overran a city in the southern Philippines and two others who allegedly helped inspire a double suicide bombing in Jakarta, officials said Thursday.
Indonesian national police spokesman Martinus Sitompul said a man arrested Tuesday in the city of Yogyakarta in Central Java is suspected of helping Indonesians travel to Mindanao, where they joined Daesh who still occupy parts of Marawi more than two weeks after their initial attack.
Police only gave the man’s initials and said four of those he helped are among seven Indonesians currently sought by Philippine authorities.
In the Philippines, officials said Cayamora Maute, the father of several of the militants behind the Marawi siege, was arrested Tuesday along with four other people at a checkpoint in southern Davao city. Maute was flown Thursday to a maximum-security detention center in metropolitan Manila, the military said.
Former Marawi Mayor Fajad Umpar Salic was also arrested in southern Misamis Oriental province late Wednesday. Maute and Salic denied any role in the Marawi siege, military officials said.
More than 200 people — mostly militants involved in the Marawi siege, along with politicians and civilians who back the gunmen — have been ordered arrested, Philippine military chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said.
The audacious attack on Marawi, and the participation of foreign fighters, has been a wakeup call for Southeast Asian governments about the potential of the southern Philippine region to become a magnet for Deash sympathizers as it loses territory it controlled in Syria and Iraq.
The Philippine military says those killed since the fighting broke out on May 23 include 20 civilians, 138 militants and 39 government troops. More than 1,560 civilians have been rescued.
West Java police spokesman Yusri Yunus said two other men were captured Wednesday in the city of Bandung on suspicion of involvement in the May 24 suicide bombings that killed three policemen and the two suicide bombers.
Police said the men, Wachidun Triyono and Muslih Afifi, and another militant arrested earlier, Muhammad Iqbal, held a meeting with the two suicide bombers on May 19 in the West Java town of Cileunyi during which they steeled their resolve to carry out the bombings.
Police also say Iqbal, who was freed from prison in 2015 after serving a sentence for involvement in a bomb-making laboratory discovered in 2010, was the bomb maker.
All those connected to the suicide bombing were members of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of Indonesian extremist groups that pledges allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, according to police.
In another development, local politician has been arrested and others are wanted for supporting the militants.
Authorities said on Thursday that they had been receiving support from local politicians and residents.
“It’s a combination of names of politicians, private citizens and members of Maute, the leaders,” Eduardo Ano said on ABS-CBN television as he discussed a list of about 200 people wanted for helping the gunmen.
Indonesia, Philippines make arrests linked to city siege
Indonesia, Philippines make arrests linked to city siege
Italian PM pledges to deepen cooperation with African states
- The plan, launched in 2024, aims to promote investment-led cooperation rather than traditional aid
ADDIS ABABA: Italy pledged to deepen cooperation with African countries at its second Italy-Africa summit, the first held on African soil, to review projects launched in critical sectors such as energy and infrastructure during Italy’s first phase of the Mattei Plan for Africa.
The plan, launched in 2024, aims to promote investment-led cooperation rather than traditional aid.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addressed dozens of African heads of state and governments in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, and reiterated that a successful partnership would depend on Italy’s “ability to draw from African wisdom” and ensure lessons are learned.
“We want to build things together,” she told African heads of state. “We want to be more consistent with the needs of the countries involved.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Italy had provided Africa with a gateway to Europe through these partnerships.
“This is a moment to move from dialogue to action,” he said.
“By combining Africa’s energetic and creative population with Europe’s experience, technology, and capital, we can build solutions that deliver prosperity to our continents and beyond.”
After the Italy-Africa summit concluded, African leaders remained in Addis Ababa for the annual African Union Summit.
Kenyan writer and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola said tangible results from such summits depend on preparations made by countries.
African governments often focus on “optics instead of actually making summits a meaningful engagement,” she said.
Instead of waiting for a list of demands, countries should “present the conclusions of an extended period of mapping the national needs” and engage in dialogue to determine how those needs can be met.
Since it was launched two years ago, the Mattei Plan has directly involved 14 African nations and has launched or advanced around 100 projects in crucial sectors, including energy and climate transition, agriculture and food security, physical and digital infrastructure, healthcare, water, culture and education, training, and the development of artificial intelligence, according to the Italian government.
