ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 1, 2009) – Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels ambushed a military patrol Thursday in the restive region of the Southern Philippines.
The ambush sparked fierce fighting in the town of Piagapo in Lanao del Sur province, where MILF rebels are actively operating.
Peace talks between the MILF and Manila failed in August last year after the aborted signing of the Muslim homeland deal that the Supreme Court ruled said was unconstitutional.
“Fighting erupted between MILF freedom fighters and government occupation forces today at around 5:20 this morning in the villages of Odalo and Bansayan, both in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.”
“There are no concrete details of the fighting as it is still raging as of press time.But initial but sketchy report said government soldiers were on patrol when they were ambushed by undetermined number of MILF mujahideen, using machineguns and rocket propelled grenade launchers,” the rebels said on a report they posted on the MILF website which can be accessed on this URL http://www.luwaran.com.
Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, has confirmed the skirmishes and said fighting were reported in several villages. “We are also awaiting reports from our commanders, but there are fighting between rebel and military forces and several villages were affected by the skirmishes,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.
Fighting also erupted last month in the town that killed two government soldiers and three rebels. Five more MILF gunmen and an infantryman were wounded in the clash Dec. 17 in Piagapo’s Bansayan village.
Troops in the province were pursuing MILF rebels blamed for a series of deadly attacks in August in Lanao del Sur and other areas in the autonomous region.
Because of the attacks, President Gloria Arroyo disbanded the government peace panel negotiating with rebels and demanded the MILF to surrender three commanders she blamed for the raids - Abdullah Macapaar, Sulayman Pangalian and Ameril Kato.
Manila has put up a P10 million bounties each for the capture of the three rebel commanders. Arroyo said the government would only return to the peace talks if the MILF surrenders the three rebel commanders. But the MILF rejected the demand and said it would resume talks if Arroyo honors the ancestral domain deal.
The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which has been fighting for more than three decades for the establishment of a separate homeland in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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