MILF says Muslim man murdered near Philippine military post

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 31, 2010) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has urged authorities Sunday to investigate the murder of a Muslim village near a military post in the troubled southern province of Basilan.

It said Najim Nitih was found dead several meters away from the military post in the village of Al-Barka late Saturday. The 28-year old motorcycle taxi driver was heading home when he was fatally shot.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack. The MILF said the victim’s family and relatives sought its help to probe the killing which they blamed to soldiers manning the military post.

“Relatives who buried Najim late last night believed that the Marines who fired upon and killed the innocent victim,” the MILF said.

There was no immediate statement from the military about the accusation.

Last year, unidentified gunmen also ambushed the mayor of Al-Barka town, Karam Jakilan, killing him instantly and two of his aides in Basilan. Jakilan was returning to Al-Barka when he was attacked.

Al-Barka is a known MILF lair where 14 soldiers were killed - ten of them beheaded - in a firefight with rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants in July 2007.

The MILF is currently negotiating peace with Manila, but despite a cease-fire agreement, sporadic clashes still continue in many parts of Mindanao, including Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner)

Southern Philippine Town Mayor Killed in Ambush

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 29, 2009) – Unidentified gunmen ambushed on Thursday a town mayor in the island of Basilan, one of six provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said Al-Barka Mayor Karam Jakilan was killed when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle and that several of his aides were also wounded. Two of his aides were also killed and four more wounded in the attack near the village of Lagayas in Tipo-Tipo town.

Jakilan was returning to Al-Barka when he was ambushed.

"We are investigating the ambush and is looking into clan war as one of the motives in the killing of the mayor," said Chief Supt. Bensali Jabarani, the regional police chief.
He said he ordered police forces to hunt down the killers of Jakilan.

Marine Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces on the island, said troops have been deployed to track down the assailants. "We still don't know who were behind the ambush, but we have troops tracking down the killers," he said.

The attack was believed connected to the earlier shooting of a village chieftain in Tipo-Tipo by one of Karam’s bodyguard.

Al-Barka is a known lair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for the killing of 14 soldiers, ten of them beheaded in July 2007. (Mindanao Examiner)

Grenade explosion kills 2 marines in Basilan Island

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Fighting leaves 1 soldier dead, 8 wounded in southern Philippines

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

8 Dead, 3 Dozens Wounded In Fierce Fighting In Southern Philippines

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sayyaf frees remaining aid worker kidnapped in Southern Philippines

Freed kidnapped aid worker Millet Mendoza with Philippine Navy Captain Jeanne Lingan in Zamboanga City on Saturday, November 15, 2008.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 15, 2008) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants have freed the last of two aid workers they kidnapped in Basilan island in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.

Philippine Marines chief General Mohamad Dolorfino said Millet Mendoza was released late Friday on a remote village in Basilan. “Kidnappers have freed Mendoza. She is okay,” Dolorfino told The Manila Times.

Mendoza was released in the town of Al-Barka, a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It was unknown if Mendoza’s family paid ransom or not, but the kidnappers previously demanded P7 million in exchange for her freedom.

Mendoza was seized Sept. 15 along with Esperancita Hupida, program director of the Nagdilaab Foundation, which is active in humanitarian and development works in Basilan island.

Hupida was also freed Oct. 30 also in Al-Barka town after her family paid P2 million ransom.

Just last week, Abu Sayyaf militants have released a kidnapped Filipino nurse, Preciosa Feliciano, after four months in captivity in Basilan in exchange for P2 million ransoms.

Feliciano, 24, was freed November 7 in Tipo-Tipo town. She was kidnapped July 7 in Zamboanga City and brought to Basilan by boat.

Kidnappers are still holding a Joed Anthony Pilangga, a nursing student snatched on October 17 outside their house in Zamboanga City. Kidnappers have demanded P20 million from Pilangga's family.

The Abu Sayyaf also kidnapped nine people in recent months in Basilan and sent letters to Christians living on the island threatening them with harm if they do not embrace Islam. The letters were signed by Indama and Jamiri. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf Executioner Captured In Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 16, 2008) – Police in Zamboanga City have captured an alleged Abu Sayyaf militant implicated in the beheading of 14 soldiers in the southern Filipino island of Basilan, reports said on Tuesday.

Reports said Abdul Balahim was captured in the village of Talon-Talon over the weekend, but his arrest was not immediately made public for a still unknown reason.

Police tagged Balahim as among those who decapitated the soldiers after security forces clashed with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels on a village in Basilan’s Al-Barka town last year.

Balahim is facing a string of murder charges in Basilan Island. It was unclear how the militant was able to elude government forces in Basilan or how the police tracked him down in Zamboanga City and whether he was planning an attack here.

Local police declined to give any statement about Balahim.

The Abu Sayyaf had previously bombed civilian targets in Zamboanga City over the years and continued its terror campaign elsewhere. Philippine authorities have linked the Abu Sayyaf to both the Saudi’s Al-Qaeda terror network and the Indonesian militant Jemaah Islamiya, blamed for the past bombings in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnappers Free 3 Hostages In Basilan Island

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 27, 2008) – Three people kidnapped in the southern Philippine island of Basilan have been released late Sunday by their captors, police said.

Police said the trio had been freed on a remote village in the town of Al-Barka, a known stronghold of the Muslim separatist rebels Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

It was not immediately if ransom was paid in exchange for the freedom of Ronnie Ando, Wilma Sumergido and her son Michael, who were kidnapped July 20 on a highway near Lamitan town.

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad identified the two of the victims as Vilma Ayson and Wilma Suharludo.

Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, Basilan police chief, said the three hostages were freed at around 10.50 p.m. to a village chieftain, Asbie Alkie, who negotiated with the kidnappers. “They are all freed and we are glad it’s over,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Six people, including two village officials, were kidnapped in Basilan in recent weeks and four of them had been ransomed off while police rescued the remaining hostages. The kidnappings have been blamed to the Abu Sayyaf and rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Mindanao Examiner)

Abu Sayyaf Loses Foreign Funding

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 18 Sept) – The Abu Sayyaf group has stopped receiving funding from abroad and its members are on the run as security forces continue hunting down militants in the troubled southern Philippine region.

Abu Kahlid, an Abu Sayyaf militant, in a clandestine interview with Al-Jazeera television in Basilan island, said his group has lost capability in launching large scale attacks similar to the firebombing of a ferry off Manila Bay in February 2004 that killed over 100 people.

Khalid is a cousin of a senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who is wanted both by the Philippines and the United States for the killings of two American citizens kidnapped in 2001.

Al-Jazeera reported Monday that Khalid admitted the Abu Sayyaf now has no more capabilities to launch large scale attacks.

He also said the Abu Sayyaf stopped receiving funding from abroad and that training its fighters have move to other region.

It was unclear who was funding the Abu Sayyaf, but Filipino and U.S. authorities have linked the group to Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda and Indonesian Jemaah Islamiya terror network.

The Abu Sayyaf last month published excerpts of a recruitment film on YouTube where the video is spoken in Arabic and was appealing for funding to Middle Eastern donors so it can carry out jihad in the Philippines.

It was taken out by YouTube after Philippine military officials said the video was promoting terrorism.

During the interview, Khalid, his face covered to hide his identity, warned that: “We will spare no one, whether they are Christians or Muslims.”

However, he said his conscience has bothered him and asked for forgives to those victimized by the Abu Sayyaf atrocities. “My conscience did bother me that why I laid low for a while. I feel bad for those who were victimized so I ask forgiveness for what I have done.”

“I have a family now and swear to God if I die and go to hell; there is nothing more I can do. I am so tired and I don’t want to go hiding anymore, I don’t want to be tired anymore,” he said.

Khalid was with another Abu Sayyaf militant, Abu Karim, said to be involved in attack on government soldiers in Basilan’s Al-Barka town in July 10. Ten Marines were beheaded in that fighting.

“It’s not always an order from Hapilon,” Khalid said, adding, younger men are coming in and acting on their own, like Abu Karim, 25, who rebelled against his parents to prove that he is a man.

Like Khalid, the young militant’s face was also covered.

Al-Jazeera reported that Karim joined the Abu Sayyaf along with young recruits in Basilan island, but wanted to leave the group because of the intense government operation.

“Abu Karim, who also joined the Abu Sayyaf and is said to be among those who decapitated ten Marines in Basilan island’s Al-Barka town, now wanted out of the group,” Al-Jazeera said in its English report now also in the popular video website YouTube.

The Al-Jazeera report ended with this: “For many of the island’s younger generation, it is the Abu Sayyaf not the military that remains the symbol of bravery regardless of leadership in a culture where guns equal power and Abu Sayyaf young recruits are waiting for their next mission to prove themselves, for them that is their only cause it could just be a matter of time before these recruits return.”

The Philippine military on Tuesday said the hunt for the Abu Sayyaf continues in Basilan island. “The operation is going on. Security forces are hunting down the Abu Sayyaf and their supporters,” Army Maj. Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.

“We are also tracking down Abu Khalid and Abu Karim and we will arrest those who are coddling the two terrorists,” he said.

The Abu Sayyaf is in the U.S. list of international terrorist organizations and Washington offered as much as five million dollars bounties for the capture of Isnilon and other known terror leaders.

Many of the Abu Sayyaf senior leaders, including its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani have been killed the past years and the group is now in disarray. But despite the government offensive the Abu Sayyaf group remains a top security concern for Manila and Washington.

Just last month, a suspected Abu Sayyaf bombing in Zamboanga City injured at least 16 people.

The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be coddling two of Indonesia’s most wanted terrorists, Jemaah Islamiya militants Dulmatin and Umar Patek in southern Philippines. Jakarta tagged both men as behind the 2002 Bali resort bombings which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Military Vows To Pursue Killers Of Soldiers

Some 500 Marines arrive Saturday Aug. 4, 2007 in the southern Philippine island of Basilan to help police forces hunt down Moro rebels implicated in the killing of 14 soldiers, ten of whom beheaded and mutilated, in an ambush July 10 in the mountain town of Al-Barka. More than 2,500 troops are already on the island searching for some 130 rebels charged with murder. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 05 Aug) – The Philippine military vowed to pursue Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels tagged as behind the killing of 14 Marines in the southern island of Basilan.

The soldiers were killed in fierce fighting on July 10 after they strayed inside a MILF territory in the hinterland town of Al-Barka. Ten of the soldiers were beheaded.

The military demanded the MILF to surrender the rebels behind the killings, but the rebel group said the fighting was a legitimate encounter. The MILF also denied beheading the soldiers and blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the grisly killings.

More than 100 mostly MILF rebels were charged with murder for the killing of the soldiers, but many also in the list provided by local politicians were either their enemies or innocent civilians.

As many as 6,000 people have fled their homes in Basilan because of an impending punitive action, although the offensive had been called off three times already to pave way for independent investigations.

“The operation will push through. We will go after the perpetrators. We will go straight to the frontlines. We will put our best-equipped and best-trained people in the frontlines and that is how we will achieve our mission,” Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, commander of military task force tasked to run after the killers of the soldiers.

He said more than 3,000 soldiers are in Basilan island and are helping the police hunt down those implicated in the killings.

Some 500 Marines, pulled out from Jolo island, arrived in Basilan on Friday.

“We have more than enough troops right now. If we need more men then other units can provide. We want justice be served and justice will be given to our Marine heroes,” Sabban said. “Our targets are the criminals who mercilessly ambushed and beheaded out Marines.”

The MILF, which is negotiating peace with the Arroyo government, said it will not surrender any of its fighters and alerted rebel forces on the island against military offensive.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said any attack on his group would violate a six-year old fragile truce and the fighting could hurt the peace talks. The MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group fighting for a separate homeland in the restive southern region. (Mark Navales)

2 MILF Men Linked To Killing Of Marines In Southern RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Aug) – The Philippine military on Thursday linked two Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in the killing of 14 Marines in the southern island of Basilan.

The two men were earlier reported to have surrendered to authorities on the island, where thousands of troops are joining the hunt for some 130 others charged with murder for the grisly killing of the soldiers, ten of them beheaded and mutilated in the village of Guinanta.

Security officials identified the rebels as Nasser Tauh and Hajan Sapii, both from the hinterland town of Al-Barka where the soldiers had been killed.

The duo surrendered an M203 automatic rifle with an attached grenade launcher belonging to one of the slain marine.

Officials said the two men surrendered to Mayors Karam Jakilan, of Al-Barka town and Tahira Sansawi, of Lantawan town, after a series of negotiations.

Tauh is a native of Guinanta village and Sapii, from Kuhon village.

Police have filed murder charges against 130 MILF rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants implicated in the killing.

The MILF, which is holding peace talks with Manila, denied beheading the soldiers and pointed to four Abu Sayyaf militants -- Nurhasan Jamiri, Bujari Jamiri, Suaib Kalibon and Umar Indama -- as behind the beheadings.

The fighting in Al-Barka erupted after some 100 Marines entered an MILF stronghold. The MILF said the soldiers violated a fragile truce signed in 2001 between the rebel group and the government. (Mindanao Examiner)

Two Alleged Marine Killers Yield In Basilan Island

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Aug) – Two suspected Moro rebels involved in the killing of 14 Marines in the southern Philippine island of Basilan surrendered to authorities, officials said Thursday.

The two men also handed over an automatic rifle they took from one of the slain soldier in the mountain town of Al-Barka, said Major Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman.

The soldiers were killed July 10 after straying inside an MILF territory while searching for a kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi, held by rebels.

The priest, seized last month in Zamboanga Sibugay province, was freed in neighboring Lanao del Norte province in Mindanao island on July 19 and said he was never taken to Basilan.

“Two suspects have surrendered to the military and we are investigating their role in the killing of our soldiers,” he told the Mindanao Examiner without further elaborating.

Police have filed murder charges against 130 MILF rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants implicated in the killing.

The MILF denied beheading the soldiers and pointed to four Abu Sayyaf militants as behind the grisly murder. (Mindanao Examiner)

MILF Tags Abu Sayyaf In Beheading Of 10 Marines In Southern Philippines

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Muslim Solon Says Sayyaf Behind Beheading Of Marines In Southern RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 01 Aug) – A former Muslim rebel leader-turned-politician has tagged four suspected Abu Sayyaf militants as behind the beheading of 10 government soldiers in Basilan island.

Wahab Akbar, now a member of the Philippine Congress, also has volunteered to run after the killers of the soldiers, who were part of 14 marines attacked in July 10 on the mountain town of Al-Barka.

Akbar, whose wife is the governor of Basilan, identified the suspects as Nurhasan Jamiri, Bujari Jamiri, Suaib Kalibon and Umar Indama. Akbar previously said that the soldiers were decapitated by a son of an Imam - who was allegedly killed by troops in Al-Barka town - to avenge his father’s death.

He said he has witnesses to back up his claims. The four men were also involved in previous kidnappings for money in Basilan.

But the military, which linked the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is currently holding peace talks with Manila, and the Abu Sayyaf in the beheading of the soldiers, said it would investigate Akbar’s allegation.

“We will investigate the report,” Marine Col. Ramiro Alivio, the island’s military chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

The MILF, which admitted killing the soldiers in fierce clashes, denied beheading the soldiers.

Police filed murder charges against 130 suspected MILF and Abu Sayyaf militants over the killing of the soldiers, but most of them had already fled their homes to evade arrest.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said some of those charged in the killing are innocent civilians.

“We have received reports that some of those charged in the killing of the soldiers are innocent civilians. We will investigate these reports to ensure the rights of the innocent,” lawyer Manuel Mamauag, CHR regional director for Western Mindanao, said.

Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog, the Philippine military’s deputy chief, said there is an ongoing negotiation for the surrender of those who beheaded the soldiers. He did not elaborate.

But Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said he was not aware of any negotiations for the surrender of the rebels.

“There is no negotiation because the MILF will not surrender any of its members. The fighting was a legitimate encounter,” he said in a separate interview.

Iqbal said the fighting erupted after some 100 soldiers entered an MILF stronghold in the remote village of Ginanta in Al-Barka town.

President Gloria Arroyo has ordered security forces to hunt down the rebels involved in the killing. (Mindanao Examiner)

Hunt For Moro Rebels Continue In Southern Philippines

Policemen hunt Moro rebels tagged as behind the beheading of ten of 14 Marines in the southern Filipino island of Basilan. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 01 Aug) – Police searched on Wednesday for Moro rebels suspected of beheading ten of 14 marines in the southern Filipino island of Basilan.

The island’s police chief, Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, said they are monitoring possible hideouts of the rebels after failing to arrest them Tuesday.

Police filed murder charges against 130 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf militants tagged in the beheading of the soldiers.

Some 300 heavily armed policemen, backed by armored troop transport with mounted machine guns, searched in remote villages in Al-Barka town Tuesday to serve the arrest warrants against the rebels, but the suspects were gone along with all the residents.

"We are conducting intelligence operations. We will look for them in all corners of Basilan," Macapantar said told the Mindanao Examiner.

He added that some of the suspects might have left Basilan while others were given sanctuary by their relatives.

The MILF, which is negotiating peace with the Arroyo government, denied beheading the soldiers and called for an international human rights group to investigate the incident.

The fighting erupted after some 100 soldiers entered an MILF territory in search for a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi after military intelligence reports said the clergy was being held by rogue MILF rebels.

The reports turned out to be false because Bossi was freed by rebels July 19 in Lanao del Norte province in Mindanao island. The priest said he was never brought to Basilan, but stayed most of his captivity in the town called Karomatan.

Philippine military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has demanded the MILF to surrender those involved in the killing and return the weapons it seized, but the MILF was defiant and said it would not yield any of its fighters.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said the fighting was a legitimate encounter and warned any attack on the rebel group could escalate and may hurt the seven year old peace talks.

Filipino acting Defense chief Norberto Gonzales has threatened to launch punitive actions against the MILF in Basilan if they do not surrender the rebels behind the murder.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting the past three decades for a separate homeland in the restive southern region of Mindanao. (Mark Navales)

300 Cops Search For Rebels In Basilan Island

Some 300 Filipino policemen, led by Basilan island police commander Salik Macapantar, hunt down Tuesday July 31, 2007 Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels tagged as behind the beheading of ten of 14 marines soldiers killed in fierce fighting in the mountain town of Al-Barka. Police said it has warrants for the arrest of 130 suspected MILF and Abu Sayyaf militants implicated in the gruesome murder on July 10. Filipino defense and security officials say they are reviewing the names in the warrants. The MILF is currently negotiating peace with Manila. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 31 Jul) – Police forces on Tuesday hunted for Moro rebels implicated in the beheading of ten of 14 marine soldiers killed in the southern Filipino island of Basilan.

Some 300 policemen searched houses in the village of Guinanta in Basilan’s Al-Barka town, a known stronghold of Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, but returned to their base later in the day without any arrest.

“It looks like the rebels have fled their homes and could be hiding to elude arrest,” the island’s police chief Salik Macapantar told the Mindanao Examiner.

Police said it has warrants for the arrest of some 130 suspected MILF and Abu Sayyaf militants implicated in the gruesome murder on July 10.

Police forces also searched an MILF training camp in the mountain town, but the place was abandoned. An obstacle course and several empty thatched huts were spotted in the area.

Government soldiers were also seen guarding a mosque in Guinanta village.

The MILF, which is negotiating peace with the Arroyo government, denied beheading the soldiers and called for an international human rights group to investigate the incident.

The fighting erupted after some 100 soldiers entered an MILF territory in search for a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi after military intelligence reports said the clergy was being held by rogue rebels.

The reports turned out to be false because Bossi was freed by rebels July 19 in Lanao del Norte province in Mindanao island. The priest said he was never brought to Basilan, but stayed most of his captivity in the town called Karomatan.

Philippine military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has demanded the MILF to surrender those involved in the killing and return the weapons it seized, but the MILF was defiant and said it would not yield any of its fighters.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said the fighting was a legitimate encounter and warned any attack on the rebel group could escalate and may hurt the seven year old peace talks.

Filipino acting Defense chief Norberto Gonzales has threatened to launch punitive actions against the MILF in Basilan if they do not surrender the rebels behind the murder.

Gonzales flew to Zamboanga City and Basilan island where he met with senior military and police commanders about the impending punitive actions.

He said the government would also review the charges against the rebels after learning that the police implicated 130 people in the beheading of the ten marine soldiers.

The MILF and the government cease-fire committees were also investigating the incident.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting the past three decades for a separate homeland in the restive southern region of Mindanao. (Mark Navales)

Gulo Sa Basilan, Parang Bulkang Sasabog!

BASILAN (Mindanao Examiner / 30 Jul) – Mataas ang tension sa Basilan province dahil sa nakaambang paglunsad ng punitive actions laban sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels na siyang pumatay sa 14 na marine soldiers, sampu sa mga ito ay pinugutan ng ulo sa labanan.

Ito ay matapos na panindigan ng MILF na hindi nito isusuko ang mga rebeldeng sabit sa pagpatay. Itinanggi rin ng rebeldeng grupo na pinugutan nila ng ulo ang mga tropa ng military.

Bukas magtatapos ang pinalawig na ultimatum ng pamahalaan sa MILF dahil sa isinagawang imbestigasyon upang matukoy ang tunay na naganap sa bayan ng Al-Barka nuong July 10.

Nagbigay na ng go-signal si Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon na ilunsad ang punitive actions. “It is D-Day on Tuesday,” ani pa ni Esperon.

Hindi naman natinag ang MILF sa bantang pagsalakay ng mga sundalo at sinabing matagal ng naghihintay ang puwersa ng rebelde sa Basilan at handa umano ang mga ito na ipagtanggol ang kanilang sarili.

Kasalukuyang may peace talks ang MILF at pamahalaan at tahasang sinabi ni Mohagher Iqbal, chief peace negotiator ng mga rebelde, na anumang pagkilos ng military kontra sa kanyang grupo ay isang paglabag ng cease-fire.

Sinabi ni Iqbal na nais ng MILF na maresolba sa mapayapang paraaan ang gulo sa Basilan upang hindi maapektuhan ang peace talks o kaya ay kumalat ang labanan sa ibang bahagi ng Mindanao kung sakaling lusubin ng mga sundalo ang kuta ng MILF sa Basilan.

“Sana ay magkaroon ng magandang paguusap pa at ng hindi magkaroon ng anumang kaguluhan sa Basilan,” ani Iqbal sa Mindanao Examiner.

Sinabi ni Iqbal na napatay sa labanan ang mga sundalo ng marines dahil pinasok nila ang kuta ng MILF ng walang koordinasyon.

Pinaghahanap umano ng mga sundalo ang dinukot na Italian Catholic priest na si Father Giancarlo Bossi matapos na may lumabas na ulat na naroon ang dayuhan.

Ngunit negatibo ang intelligence ng military at si Bossi ay napalaya sa Lanao del Norte nuong July 19 matapos ng 39 araw na pagkakabihag ng mga rogue MILF rebels. (May ulat ni Mark Navales)

Troops Patrol Basilan As D-Day Nears

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 29 Jul) – Philippine soldiers have doubled security patrols Sunday in the southern island of Basilan as the military readies its forces to arrest Moro rebels behind the killing of 14 marines, ten of them beheaded, in fierce clashes.

More than 2,000 soldiers are now on the island as part of task force that will carry out the arrest after a court released the warrants. The military has given until Tuesday investigators to look into the beheading of the soldiers in Al-Barka town.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is negotiating peace with Manila, admitted killing the soldiers, but denied beheading them. It also rejected a military demand to turn over those behind the attack.

Marine Col. Ramiro Alivio, commander of military forces in Basilan, said "intelligence operations and security patrols" were continuing but that there have been no large-scale movement of forces by either side and no armed contact have been recorded as of Sunday.

The news of impending punitive actions against the MILF has triggered an exodus of civilians with more than 5,000 people fleeing their homes in Al-Barka town and nearby areas.

Intelligence reports have implicated political warlords and their private armies in the beheading of the soldiers. (With a report from Mark Navales)

130 MILF Rebels, Sayyaf Militants Charged For Killing 14 Soldiers In South RP

Policemen stand guard on their base in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. Police forces, backed by soldiers, are preparing to arrest some 130 Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants tagged as behind the killing of 14 soldiers, ten of them beheaded in nearby Basilan island on July 10. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 28 Jul) – Philippine authorities have identified at least 130 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf militants as behind the killing of 14 soldiers, ten of them beheaded, in Basilan island.

The warrants for their arrest have been released by the court and security forces are now preparing to run after them. More than a hundred rebels, also implicated in the July 10 attack in Al-Barka town, are yet to be identified.

The military said the Abu Sayyaf group was also involved in the attack.

It was unknown how authorities got the names of rebels allegedly involved in the attack. But other reports said ten witnesses, mostly followers of politicians in Basilan island, have provided authorities with names of rebels and information about them.

The MILF has previously denied beheading the soldiers and said other armed groups, some of them, followers of local politicians, were behind the gruesome murders.

Sattar Alih, head of the MILF cease-fire monitoring team in Basilan island, said rebel forces withdrew from the battle scene, leaving the bodies of soldiers behind, after military and rebels agreed to a cease-fire.

Intelligence sources in Basilan have also implicated unnamed politicians who allegedly supplied the Abu Sayyaf and with mortar rockets, weapons and munitions during the fighting.

Their private armies allegedly fought against the military forces side-by-side with the MILF and that two gunmen had died in the skirmishes.

The gunmen were believed behind the mutilation of the slain soldiers.

More than 2,000 soldiers were sent to Basilan to help police in arresting those charged in court.

“The police will take the lead role in arresting those involved in the beheading with the military as a strong support force,” said Philippine military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.

Esperon on Friday called off a planned attack on MILF rebels who beheaded the soldiers to give way for a joint investigation.

The order came after President Gloria Arroyo met with top military and police commanders in Zamboanga City. Arroyo held a closed door meeting with military generals, headed by Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon and Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command.

Arroyo gave investigators until Tuesday to finish their report. She also ordered security forces to run after Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda terror network in Basilan and Jolo island.

It was the second time the military postponed the offensive since the MILF defied an ultimatum on Sunday for rebels to surrender. The postponement of offensives came days before the start of a three-day ASEAN summit in Manila on July 29. The MILF warned that any attacks on rebel forces in Basilan could spark sympathy attacks.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for a separate homeland in the strife-torn, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

President Arroyo To Preside Over Military Conference In Zamboanga

Basilan island Gov. Jum Akbar speaks as Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, left, and Presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza listen during a meeting Thursday July 26, 2007 in Zamboanga City. Security forces are preparing for punitive actions against Moro rebels behind the beheading of ten soldiers on Basilan island on July 10. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 26 Jul) – Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is to preside Friday a closed-door conference with senior military and police commanders in the southern port city of Zamboanga.

Arroyo’s meeting with security officials came ahead of a planned government offensive against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels tagged as behind the beheading of ten marines who were part of 14 soldiers killed in nearby island of Basilan last week.

Security is already tight in Zamboanga City and soldiers were spotted guarding roadblocks and checkpoints near the Western Mindanao Command headquarters where Arroyo will hold the conference.

More than 2,000 soldiers were sent to Basilan island to hunt for the rebels, but the MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, warned that any attacks on its forces could spark an all-out war and trigger a deadly retaliation that may hurt the peace talks.

The MILF defied a one-week military ultimatum for rebels to surrender peacefully, saying, the fighting on July 10 in Al-Barka town was a legitimate encounter after some 100 marines entered a rebel stronghold.

Marine Col. Ramiro Alivio, Basilan military chief, said the soldiers were searching for a kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi when rebels attacked them.

Bossi, seized by rogue MILF rebels led by brothers Akiddin and Wanning Abdusallam in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Payao town, was released in Karomatan town in Lanao de Norte province in Mindanao island.

The 57-year old priest said he was never taken to Basilan island and that a wrong intelligence allegedly provided by politicians in Basilan island had led the soldiers into a death trap.

Philippine media on Thursday reported that Japan and Canada, and the World Bank have expressed serious concern over a possible outbreak of hostilities between security and rebel forces in the volatile region of Mindanao.

They urged the Filipino government and the MILF to exercise restraint to save the six-year old peace talks. Malaysia is brokering the peace negotiations and has sent truce observers on Basilan to help investigate the beheading of the ten soldiers.

Japan said it would temporarily pull out aid workers in Mindanao for security reason if fighting erupts between soldiers and rebels.

Tokyo last year launched the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development, or J-BIRD, as part of its commitment to support peace and development efforts in Mindanao.

These projects include the construction of school buildings funded through Japan's Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects and post-harvest facilities funded through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Jesus Dureza, Presidential adviser for the peace process, said Arroyo is dealing the problem in Basilan in an appropriate manner and told donor countries that the government adheres to the primacy of the peace process in Mindanao.

“Other countries should not show that they are more concerned than we are by these statements. You must trust President Arroyo that she will do the most appropriate thing here because she has shown that she has the political will despite of the great odds in the past.”

“The President, by her own acts, has shown that she adheres to the primacy of the peace process. So let no one doubt that she knows exactly how to deal with these in the most appropriate manner. We welcome those (statements by donor countries), but they don’t have to tell us that because we are more concerned than they are,” Dureza said.

Dureza was in Zamboanga on Thursday and met with Basilan Gov. Jum Akbar and some of the island’s mayors to discuss about the arrest of rebels behind the killing of the soldiers.

Murad Ebrahim, the MILF chieftain, also ordered its forces in Mindanao to observe maximum restraint in the face of standoff in Basilan island.

Ebrahim issued the order after meeting on Wednesday with Datuk Othman bin Abdu’ Razak, chief Malaysian facilitator of the peace talks.

The rebel leader assured Kuala Lumpur that the MILF is fully committed to the primacy of the peace process and to the various mechanisms of the ceasefire agreement, especially in determining the culpability of violators of the truce.

He told the Malaysian peace brokers that the MILF has always maintained defensive posture in the southern Philippines, but warned that rebel forces will fight back if attack by government troops.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, has accused the Philippine military of violating the cease-fire after soldiers entered a rebel territory without coordination.

The MILF has repeatedly denied beheading the soldiers and is currently investigating the fighting in Basilan.

Sattar Alih, head of the MILF cease-fire monitoring team in Basilan island, said rebel forces withdrew from the battle scene, leaving the bodies of soldiers behind, after military and rebels agreed to a cease-fire.

It was unknown who were behind the decapitation, but intelligence sources in Basilan have implicated unnamed politicians who allegedly supplied the Abu Sayyaf and with mortar rockets, weapons and munitions during the fighting.

Their private armies allegedly fought against the military forces side-by-side with the MILF and that two gunmen had died in the skirmishes. The gunmen were believed behind the mutilation of the slain soldiers.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting the past three decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)