Philippines President Duterte Says He Will Eat the Flesh of Militants Sprinkled With Salt and Vinegar
Eleanor Ross, Newsweek
Eleanor Ross, Newsweek
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reacted to the discovery Wednesday of the bodies of two Vietnamese sailors who had been held hostage by saying he would eat alive the militants responsible.
The sailors were kidnapped along with four other crew members of a Vietnamese cargo ship in November 2016. Their remains were found off the Southern region of Mindanao by Philippine troops.
The country's military said Abu Sayyaf, the radical Islamist militant group that had previously attacked other sailors, including German Jurgen Kantner, is to blame.
"I will eat your liver if you want me to. Give me salt and vinegar and I will eat it in front of you," Duterte told local officials late Wednesday, holding up a mobile phone with pictures of the deceased Vietnamese soldiers.
"I eat everything. I am not picky. I eat even what cannot be swallowed."
Duterte is infamous for his aggressive and often outrageous statements. He once called a former president of the U.S. a “son of a whore” and encouraged unemployed Filipinosto kill drug dealers.
Last year Duterte organized a military offensive against Abu Sayyaf, and sent the army to the southern region of the Philippines to fight the group, which is affiliated with the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Abu Sayyaf formed in the 1990s with money from Al-Qaeda, and continues to engage in kidnappings and terrorism.
This isn’t the first time Duterte has referenced cannibalism. Last year. he also discussed eating Abu Sayyaf militants after they bombed his home city of Davao, killing 15.
Abu Sayyaf militants continue to hold 22 hostages, according to the military, eight of whom are Vietnamese.
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