adminTwo Filipino-Algerian documentary filmmakers, kidnapped by an armed group in the strife-torn southern Philippines, have been recovered by authorities after eight months in captivity, a military statement said.Jolo marine commander Brigadier General Jose Cenabre said late on Thursday that the kidnappers decided to free them amid heightened military activity to locate them.
Despite her ordeal, Nadjoua Bansil said she and her younger sister Linda would return to making movies about marginalised communities.
“We will rest for a while but we will continue in our independent filmmaking,” she told reporters in the southern city of Zamboanga where they were taken after their recovery in Jolo.
The two women were recovered on the island of Jolo as authorities were conducting a search for them, the military said. Elder brother of the sisters, Mohammed Bansil, also thanked those who helped in securing the release of his siblings.
However, both the military and brother declined to say whether a ransom had been paid for the two.
“Whatever you think about the ransom we cannot answer that. Suffice to say that we safely recovered the victims,” said the local military chief, Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero. — AP
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