Massacre in Philippines

In the southern province of Maguindanao, Philippines, on Nov. 23, a convoy of supporters and family members of a political clan was attacked by about 100 gunmen (including police officers) of, allegedly, a rival party. Fifty-seven people, more than half of them journalists, were brutally slaughtered. Four people at the end of the convoy escaped.

President Arroyo declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat and the city of Cotabato. The US Department of State urges taking extreme caution if traveling in central and western portions of the island of Mindanao as well as in the islands of the Sulu Archipelago.