Troops Reclaim Mindanao Villages Occupied By MILF Rebels

Relief assistance coming from the World Food Program is distributed Wednesday, August 13, 2008 to thousands of Filipino evacuees displaced by the fighting between government troops and Muslim rebels in North Cotabato province in Mindanao. The weeklong battle had killed over two dozen soldiers and rebels and forced some 160,000 civilians to flee their homes. The United Nations on Wednesday said it is alarmed by the humanitarian crisis in Mindanao because of the fighting and appealed for restraint and protection of civilians. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 13, 2008) – Philippine troops have reclaimed Wednesday over a dozen villages occupied by Muslim rebels in North Cotabato province in the troubled region of Mindanao.

Troops, backed by attack planes and artilleries, have finally driven away hundreds of Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters in 15 villages across the province.

Rebels occupied the villages in North Cotabato which the MILF is claiming as part of the ancestral domain. Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF, but despite a cease-fire rebels and soldiers continue sporadic clashes in many parts of Mindanao and both sides accused each other of breaking the fragile truce.

A government ultimatum to totally pull out the rebel forces last week failed with the MILF blaming armed militias for the clashes in the towns of Aleosan, Pikit and Midsayap.

The police and military accused the MILF of pillaging civilian areas and attacking government forces since last month after North Cotabato opposed its inclusion to a government deal with the MILF that would dismember the province.

But the weeklong battle had killed over two dozen soldiers and rebels and forced some 160,000 civilians to flee their homes. The United Nations on Wednesday said it is alarmed by the humanitarian crisis in Mindanao because of the fighting and appealed for restraint and protection of civilians.

A military spokesman said rebel forces, led by Amiril Umra Kato, have retreated to the hinterlands. Authorities said it would file charges against Kato, commander of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces 105th Base Command.

“We have totally reclaimed the villages occupied by rebels. But troops are still clearing the areas of landmines left behind by the MILF forces,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ando said there have been no reports of fresh clashes. He said many civilians displaced by the fighting wanted to return home. “They want to attend to their farms and return to their normal life, but landmines and unexploded munitions are posing a danger to civilians,” he said.

“Troops are carefully clearing the areas, slowly and inch by inch to really ensure that no explosives are left behind,” he said.

The MILF said rebel forces were ordered to reposition to avoid clashes with government troops. “We have complied with the agreement between the cease-fire committees to reposition our forces to avoid further clashes. Had not militias attacked the MILF, there would have been no hostilities in North Cotabato,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

Kabalu said the MILF has ordered the rebels to defend themselves against military attacks.

Mohagher Iqbal, the chief MILF peace negotiator, on Tuesday said the hostilities could spread to other parts of Mindanao and were threatening the peace talks.“If the fighting spread to other areas in Mindanao, then the talks will surely be at risk,” Iqbal said.

The Arroyo government opened peace talks in 2001 with the MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group.

Peace negotiators last month have reached a deal on the ancestral domain, but the Supreme Court stopped the formal signing of the accord last week that would eventually grant Muslims their own homeland in Mindanao after politicians and lawmakers opposed to the deal filed a petition.

Ancestral domain is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement with the Philippine government.

Presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon said there is need to amend the Constitution to allow plebiscite on areas under the ancestral domain that would make up the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity and give Muslims their own homeland.

The ancestral domain covers the whole of the Muslim autonomous region – Sulu, Tawi-Tawi-, Basilan, Maguindanao and Lanao, including Marawi City. And some areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Mindanao where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes. And also Palawan Island, off Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)