Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Two Killed In Clash Outside Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 30 May) A former leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) turned government militia clashed with bandits killing two of them in the town of Dinas, east of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, police said Tuesday.

Police said the group of ex-rebel commander Norham Amil clashed with bandits in the village of Sambulawan . One of Amil's followers was also wounded in the fighting late Monday afternoon, said Superintendent Ramon Ochotorena, the chief of police in Zamboanga del Sur province.

"Two bandits were killed in the fighting. We have deployed police forces in the area to pursue the bandits and protect the villagers," Ochotorena told the Zamboanga Journal.

He said the militias were patrolling the village when they ran into a group of bandits led by Kamil Lao, tagged as behind the series of killings and attacks on civilians in the area.

Police said Lao's group was also implicated in the killing of the town's vice mayor Abdulbasit Maulana and five of his bodyguards. In March, troops killed one of Lao's henchman Bandino Albios in a clash in the village of Hakayan in Dinas town.
Albios and Lao were also linked to the killing in December of another Zamboanga del Sur town vice mayor Mujahid Andi and two town councilors Manuel Mira and Alejandro Estriba in October last year.

No comments: