Philippines hostages threatened

The Red Cross is helping Philippine civilians displaced by fighting

Armed insurgents in the southern Philippines have threatened to kill one of the hostages they are holding from the International Red Cross (ICRC).

They warn they will carry out their threat if the army does not stop its operations against them.

Three hostages were abducted two months ago on the remote island of Jolo.

The insurgents, from the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf, have kidnapped a number of foreigners and local people in the past.

According to the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, the culture of celebrity in the Philippines is such that, even in a tense hostage standoff like the one going now on Jolo, journalists are able to speak regularly with the Islamic militants who are holding the three Red Cross workers captive.

Guide to the Philippines conflict

So it was through a radio interview that the self-styled commander of the hostage-takers was able to relay his demand that the Philippines military pull back from positions where it says it has the group surrounded.

Otherwise, he said, he would kill one of the hostages.

Over the past few days there have been several exchanges of fire between the two sides.

The army has refused the demand, insisting it will keep up the pressure on Abu Sayyaf, a local Islamic movement with past links to al-Qaeda, and notorious for its practice of kidnapping for ransom.

The ICRC has urged restraint, saying the safety of its staff - one Swiss, one Italian and a Filipino - must be paramount. They were abducted as they were leaving a local prison, where they had been inspecting a sanitation project.

This impoverished region of the southern Philippines has long been plagued by armed insurgencies of such bewildering complexity it is difficult to be sure of their various motivations; certainly some groups are inspired by the Jihadist ideologies of other Islamic movements, and angered by the central government's neglect.

But the huge sums of money made from previous kidnappings are also a strong inducement to keep up the armed struggle - as are the army's often half-hearted efforts to contain the insurgent groups.