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Security boosted in Philippines | Security boosted in Philippines |
(9 minutes later) | |
More than 100,000 police and military troops are being deployed across the Philippines to provide security ahead of elections due in May. | |
The aim is to enforce a ban on all unlicensed weapons and encourage private militias to disband. | The aim is to enforce a ban on all unlicensed weapons and encourage private militias to disband. |
The move comes in the wake of the mass killing of 57 people in the southern province of Maguindanao. | The move comes in the wake of the mass killing of 57 people in the southern province of Maguindanao. |
The incident was widely believed to have been related to the forthcoming elections in May. | The incident was widely believed to have been related to the forthcoming elections in May. |
It is a measure of the history of election-related violence in the Philippines that these additional security measures are deemed necessary. | |
It is also a very high-profile effort to try to reassure a nervous and sceptical public that the authorities are determined to act. In part, the heightened security is a response to the massacre in Maguindanao last November. | |
The main suspect, Andal Ampatuan Junior, is a member of a politically powerful family that has long provided strong support for President Gloria Arroyo. | The main suspect, Andal Ampatuan Junior, is a member of a politically powerful family that has long provided strong support for President Gloria Arroyo. |
Mr Ampatuan stands accused of killing relatives of a rival political clan who were on their way to register a candidate for May's elections. | Mr Ampatuan stands accused of killing relatives of a rival political clan who were on their way to register a candidate for May's elections. |
A number of journalists and lawyers were also among the victims. | |
Their convoy was stopped at a check point before the killings were carried out. | Their convoy was stopped at a check point before the killings were carried out. |
In the days that followed, the entire police force of the province was removed and some senior officers placed in custody. | |
So setting up police check points in areas identified as security hotspots may not provide as much reassurance as the authorities hope. | So setting up police check points in areas identified as security hotspots may not provide as much reassurance as the authorities hope. |