A contingent of heavily armed gunmen ambushed and hijacked a convoy of vans that were transporting the family and supporters of an election candidate, who is running in the provincial governor elections. The convoy was also comprised of journalists and the sudden assault on the unsuspecting civilians killed 21 people.

The attack took place in the southern Philippines region which is primarily a Muslim province and has long been marred by violence between rivals clans. The convoy carried about 40 people and was hijacked near the Maguindanao province. During the initial investigations, the first responder army units discovered 21 people shot dead that included, 13 women and eight men.

So far, there have been claims of responsibility for the horrific attack and as per the initial reports, authorities including police and army units have begun the search and rescue efforts for the hostages. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has confirmed that out of the 40 hostages, ten were journalists and the organization hasn’t been able to get in touch with them, fearing that the journalist have been killed.

In a statement, the international organization, Reporters Without Borders said,

“Never in the history of journalism have the news media suffered such a heavy loss of life in one day. The frenzied violence of thugs working for corrupt politicians has resulted in an incomprehensible bloodshed.”

The governor position hopeful, Ismael Mangudadatu is said to be safe and secure as he wasn’t the part of the convoy, but according to Mr. Mangudadatu, his wife and daughter were part of the convoy and they have also been abducted. He further stated that, his wife and other relatives have been confirmed dead.

Via Associated Press.