Ambush kills 3 in Basilan province

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 06, 2009) – At least three people were killed Monday in an ambush blamed by the military and police to clan war in the troubled province of Basilan in the southern Philippines.

Police said the gunmen ambushed a cargo truck as it passed a village in the town of Lantawan. At least seven passengers were also injured in the attack.

Regional police chief Bensali Jabarani said he sent additional police forces in the town to hunt down the attackers.

“Sporadic fighting between the protagonists actually began on Sunday and continued until today. We have sent forces in the area to hunt those behind the attack and disarm the protagonists. This is clan war,” he told nthe Mindanao Examiner.

The military also said the fighting was between two warring civilian groups.

“We have reports that the attack was connected to a feud between two civilian groups,” Army First Lt. Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said in a separate interview.

Clan war or locally known as “rido”, is common in many parts of the southern Philippines. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the think tank, Asia Foundation, have said more than 3,000 people have been killed over the past seven decades in family feuds in the southern Philippines.

Rido can involve disputes among family members or among two or more rival families, pitting neighbors or different ethnic groups against each other. The disputes center on issues of land, money, marriage or political power and involve revenge killing.

The violence increases with each act of retaliation, broadening to include those not directly involved in the dispute, including women and children, according to the Asia Foundation, adding, some feuds lasted for decades. (Mindanao Examiner)

US Hands Over New Projects In Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 01, 2007) – The United States on Monday handed over two infrastructure projects worth more than P150-million to Filipino officials in the southern island of Basilan.

American Ambassador Kristie Kenney led officials in the ceremony held in the towns of Maluso and Lantawan.

The projects, a port area in Maluso and a bridge in Lantawan towns, were constructed under the US Agency for International Development-Growth with Equity in Mindanao.

Security was tight throughout Kenney’s visit in Basilan, where Filipino security forces are still hunting down Abu Sayyaf militants, blamed for a recent attack that killed two soldiers and wounded over a dozen others in Basilan’s Tipo-Tipo town.

Kenney last week also handed over $3.7 million of development projects in Sulu province on top of the $190 million grant aid to Mindanao.

The $3.7 million will be used for the repair of the Jolo airport and the construction of a potable water system in Sulu.

Aside from the funding, Kenney also handed over to local officials the P27-million Jolo market road and several projects in the province, including computers for the Sulu National High School and aquaculture materials for former Moro rebels now engaged in lobster fattening. (Mindanao Examiner)

Village Chieftain, Companion Attacked In Basilan Island

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 03 Sept) – A village chieftain and his companion were wounded when gunmen attacked them at sea off Basilan island in southern Philippines, a municipal mayor said Monday.

Mayor Tahira Ismael, of Lantawan town, said the attack occurred Friday. She said the attack was connected to a family feud.

“There is an investigation and initial reports suggested the attack was related to a feud between two families,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

She said the two victims were onboard a motorized boat when gunmen also on boats attacked them off Lantawan town. “This is an isolated case. Peace is slowly returning to our province,” she said.

The military has launched a major operation in Basilan to flush out Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro implicated in the killing of more than two dozen soldiers since July. (Mindanao Examiner)

Vendetta War Erupts In Southern Philippine Island

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 13 Aug) – At least one person was killed in a firefight between two rival Muslim families in Basilan island in the southern Philippines.

Dozens of families have fled their homes because of the fighting that erupted on a remote village called Dansalan near Lantawan town at the weekend. The skirmishes erupted after a villager, Haji Paraja, was killed by a son of his opponent.

In retaliation, Paraja’s relatives attacked the gunman’s family, sparking sporadic battle in the village, but it was not immediately known whether there were casualties in the fighting.

Sporadic gunfight was also reported Monday, but no reports of fresh killings.
Before he was killed, Paraja told his family that he would run in next month’s village elections. It was not immediately known whether his murder had anything to do with politics. The suspect in his killing remains at large.

Vendetta killing is common in Basilan island and other areas in the southern Philippines and the feud would sometimes last for decades unless both protagonists agree to a cease-fire brokered by religious leaders and accept blood money as payment for the bloodshed. (Mindanao Examiner)