Brigadier General Gaudencio Pangilinan, commander of the Army’s 1002nd Infantry Brigade, inspects Monday, August 25, weapons recovered by troops from Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels during fierce fighting in the hinterlands of Maasim town. The military said 40 MILF rebels are killed in the fighting in Sarangani since Saturday. Red Cross volunteers also distribute relief goods to refugees in Sarangani. (Sarangani Information Office Photo by Cocoy Sexcion / Text by the Midnanao Examiner )
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 25, 2008) – At least 16 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters and two soldiers were killed as clashes erupted anew in Lanao del Norte province in the southern Philippines, officials said Monday.
Officials said the weekend fighting broke out in Poona Piagapo and Matunggao towns after soldiers drove away dozens of MILF rebels who occupied four areas in the village of Nunungan.
The fighting erupted barely a week after security forces regained control of several towns in the province also occupied by rebel forces. But the clashes last week left over 100 civilians dead and wounded and displaced more than 160,000 people.
Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said 16 rebels and two soldiers were killed in the fighting in Poona Piagapo. He said two soldiers were also wounded in the clashes. Allaga said troops seized several small bases of Macapaar in Poona Piagapo and Matunggao towns. Sporadic fighting was also reported in Maguindanao province.
Security forces were hunting down two notorious MILF commanders, Ameril Kato and Abdurahman Macapaar, who led a series of attacks in the provinces. Manila also demanded the MILF to peacefully surrender Kato and Macapaar, but rebel chieftain Murad Ebrahim said he would not yield the two commanders.
He said the MILF is a revolutionary organization and is not sanctioned by Philippine laws.
“We cannot subject our members to the laws of the government,” he said, adding, the MILF has started its own investigation into attacks.
The Arroyo government is currently negotiating peace with the MILF, which is fighting the past three decades for the establishment of a separate Muslim homeland in the troubled island of Mindanao.
Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, said more than 100 rebels also perished in clashes last week in the towns of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Piang and Kabuntalan towns, all in Maguindanao province. Ando said soldiers also recovered assorted munitions, mortar rockets and anti-tank weapons left behind by fleeing rebels.
On Saturday, at least 40 rebels were also killed in day-long fighting in the hinterlands of Sarangani province, Gov. Miguel Dominguez, quoting military reports, said. He said troops also occupied several MILF strongholds in the province. The MILF said the fighting in Sarangani killed at least 13 soldiers.
The MILF warned the fighting could lead to the collapse of the peace talks. It blamed hawkish factions in the Arroyo government and Christian politicians opposing the Muslim homeland deal to the skirmishes in Mindanao.
Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said his group will not anymore negotiate any amendments to the ancestral domain deal, saying, peace negotiators have initialed the accord last month in Malaysia, which is brokering the talks.
Press Secy. Jesus Dureza said if the MILF wanted to continue the peace talks, it should surrender the Kato and Macapaar. “The inaction of the MILF leadership will be construed as its tacit approval of the criminal acts of its commanders and will be a clear proof of the MILF leadership’s insincerity to pursue the conclusion of the peace talks,” he said.
“We want to continue peace negotiations but not at the expense of our laws. There is no all-out war in Mindanao. This is waging all-out peace in Mindanao. We have gone a long way for peace but not at the expense of our innocent civilians who seek vindication for the violence inflicted on them by those lawless MILF groups. Our peace-loving citizens expect no less,” Dureza said.
The rebels launched attacks after the aborted signing of the ancestral domain deal between the MILF and Manila. The accord would have granted Muslims their own homeland in more than 700 villages across Mindanao, but the deal also sparked a series of protests from politicians and residents opposed to the inclusion of their areas to the agreement that will make up the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.
The Supreme Court stopped the signing of the memorandum of agreement on the ancestral domain after some lawmakers and politicians filed separate petitions asking the government to bare the rest of the deal with the MILF. (Mindanao Examiner)
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