November 23, 2001	Friday	Ramazan 7, 1422

LONDON, Nov 22: The United States has promised the Philippines virtually any help it needs to combat terrorism within its borders and especially to help eliminate the Abu Sayyaf group.

In a joint statement issued after President George Bush met his Philippine counterpart, Gloria Arroyo, at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, the US promised the Philippines US dollars 100 million in counter-terrorism and other military assistance.

Mr Bush also said he would ask the US Congress to provide Manila, probably his most vocal ally after Britain, with more than one billion United States dollars in trade benefits and declared the Philippines eligible for debt relief of up to US dollars 430 million.

The statement added that Washington would send agricultural exports worth US dollars 150 million and food aid of up to US dollars 40 million to its former colony.

Mr Bush said he asked Ms Arroyo “point blank” what she needed. “She says she’s got a great military, a competent military,” he said.

“She’s confident that her military can deal with Abu Sayyaf, and for that I applaud her and wish her all the best, and we want to help her military deal with them.”

More than 7,000 Philippine troops are struggling to crack down on the Abu Sayyaf, an organisation of several hundred fighters based in the southern Philippines that claims to be fighting for a separate homeland, but does little beyond kidnap people for ransom.

The rebels, who are thought to have strong links with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda organisation, are holding about half a dozen hostages, including an American missionary couple.

Washington has sent more than a dozen military advisers to the region to help the Philippine military.

Ms Arroyo said after meeting Mr Bush that she was grateful of any help to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf, who she sees as the greatest threat to national stability.

“The important thing is we are getting military, economic assistance that will help us,” she said.

Manila’s mission has been greatly complicated in the last three days since one faction of another Muslim group, the Moro National Liberation Front, broke a five-year-old ceasefire on Monday and started attacking government positions on the island of Jolo, which is also the Abu Sayyaf’s heartland.

The commander of the Philippine military’s southern command, Lieutenant General Roy Cimatu, said on Wednesday that he had used helicopter gunships and second world war-era bombers to attack the positions of the liberation front forces loyal to Nur Misuari, whom he accuses of forming an alliance with the Abu Sayyaf.

He said more than 100 rebels had been killed, along with four soldiers and seven civilians.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.