Kidnappers of Italian in Philippines demand ransom: aid agency

ROME (AFP) - Unidentified gunmen who abducted an Italian employee of a non-government organization in the southern Philippines have demanded a small ransom, the organization said here.
Movimondo, an Italian NGO which combats poverty around the world, said the ransom sought by the kidnappers of Andrea Cianferoni was "a mere pittance".
Cianferoni, in his early 50s, was driving with two Filipino companions in Lanao del Norte province in the main southern island of Mindanao when heavily armed men wearing masks stopped them, provincial government spokesman Richel Umel said.
The three were forced to walk several kilometers (miles) before the Filipinos were freed, said Marine Colonel Ben Delorfino, whose unit is based in the Lanao province.
Delorfino said it was not clear who was behind the abduction but authorities had received reports that the Italian had been taken to an area controlled by the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

11/09/2004 - 13:55 GMT - AFP