Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to Abu Sayyaf rebels on Friday to end their campaign of piracy and kidnapping and start direct talks with him, offering an olive branch towards a brutal Islamist group he previously vowed to destroy, REUTERS reports. Only a few months ago, Duterte said there could be no peaceful solution for dealing with the Abu Sayyaf. But with 10,000 troops in the southern Philippines unable to curtail the hostage-taking and with civilians in the line of fire, he said all-out war was not the answer. Abu Sayyaf, entrenched in its island strongholds of Jolo and Basilan, is holding 22 captives, most of them foreigners, demanding tens of thousands of dollars for their freedom.