RP Troops Kill MNLF Rebel In Jolo Clash

Muslim children play at an empty military checkpoint in Tagbak village in Jolo island in southern RP.(Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Apr) – Government soldiers clashed Tuesday with Moro National Liberation Front rebels in the restive southern Filipino island of Jolo, killing one gunman, officials said.

Officials said one rebel was also captured and that he is being interrogated at a military base on the island.

“One rebel was killed in the clash and a second gunman has been taken alive and is under interrogation. Troops also recovered an M203 automatic rifle from the area,” Army Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command headquarters, told the Mindanao Examiner in Zamboanga City.

He said the fighting erupted in the village of Bitan-ag in Indanan town, scene of fierce clashes since April 13. There were no military casualties, he said.

But previous clashes had already killed three marine soldiers and wounded at least 53 others, according to Army Brig. Gen. Ruperto Pabustan said.

Pabustan said 17 rebels had been killed and that 50 more were wounded in the fighting since last week.

Police on Tuesday also confirmed that Abu Sayyaf militants allied with the MNLF rebels have kidnapped seven people on the island. Other reports said nine soldiers were killed when rebels attacked a military truck with bazookas in Parang town and that two more soldiers had been seized by Abu Sayyaf militants at a checkpoint, but these could not be independently confirmed.

The military blamed MNLF leader Ustadz Habier Malik for the fighting, but he said troops started the skirmishes when they strayed inside rebel strongholds in the guise of pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants.

The government also put up one million pesos bounty on the head of Malik.Thousands of civilians gave fled their homes on the island because of the fighting and many are now housed at temporary shelters in safer areas.

A militant party list group, Suara Bangsamoro, on Tuesday condemned the reward offer and said the military was covering up its role in the skirmishes.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines is resorting to bounty to cover up its actual role in provoking Ustadz Habier Malik to declare a jihad," Amirah Ali Lidasan, the group’s national president, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

She said Malik has declared a holy war on the island. “Most likely the people in Sulu will heed Ustadz Habier Malik’s call for a jihad because of the long list of human rights violations and the intensifying military offensives against MNLF camps hiding under the pretext of running after Abu Sayyaf and Jeemayat Islamiya.”

“We believe that the call for a jihad was a response to the long list of injustices and violations to the peace accord that the AFP has committed against the MNLF and the people of Sulu,” said Lidasan.She said the fighting displaced as many as 50,000 civilians on Jolo island.

“We fear for the lives of those fleeing military operations and their lives once inside cramped makeshift evacuation centers. For the sake of the evacuees, we call for an end to the military’s pursuit operations. We urge AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon to heed the calls of the civilians,” Lidasan said.

Lidasan said the government offensives have affected residents in eight towns -- Luuk, Panamao, Panglima Estino, Patikul, Kalinggalan Caluang, Talipao, Indanan and Parang. (Mindanao Examiner)