Missionary shot dead in Philippines

An Irish missionary was shot dead on Tuesday by four gunmen who had tried to abduct him in a remote town in the southern Philippines, police said.

The Reverend Rufus Halley, a member of the Columban order, had been riding his motorcycle to his home at Our Lady Peace parish church in the town of Malabang in the province of Lanao del Sur. Just before dusk, four men in ski-masks flagged him down in the remote village of Diamaro.

A police spokesman, Senior Superintendent Akmad Omar, said Mr Halley had been seen talking to the men, who carried M-16 assault rifles, before they tried to drag him away. When he had resisted, the gunmen shot him in the head and fled.

Sen Supt Omar described it as a "foiled kidnapping" but said police did not know which group was responsible.Police and marines had been deployed to pursue the killers. Two other Irish missionaries had been kidnapped in the region four years ago by former Muslim separatist rebels, he said.

Mr Halley, who had been serving in the Malabang parish for 20 years, was fluent in several local dialects, Sen Supt Omar said. "This priest is well-loved by the people of Malabang because all by himself he can easily mingle with Muslims and non-Muslims in the locality." Mr Halley had been involved in promoting Muslim-Christian dialogue in Malabang and nearby Balabagan.

He had caused controversy last year when he refused to hold masses inside military camps during the offensive against the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The MILF reopened talks with the Philippine government and last month reaffirmed a 1997 ceasefire.