4 dead in fresh fighting in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 1, 2009) – Fierce fighting between government troops and Moro rebels broke out on Thursday in the southern Philippine island of Sulu killing at least four people on both sides, officials said.

Officials said the fighting erupted at around 11 a.m. in the village of Bitan-ag in Panamao town. One soldier was killed and nine more were wounded in the clashes, said Marine Major General Benjamin Dolorfino, chief of the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

“One of our soldiers was killed and nine others are wounded in the fighting. Three gunmen were also slain and troops recovered the bodies,” he said.

Other reports in Sulu said the fighting broke out after Moro National Liberation Front rebels ambushed the soldiers and that at least 9 gunmen were slain in the ensuing firefight.

Dolorfino said troops recovered a 90mm recoilless rifle and four munitions, an M16 and AK-47 automatic rifles, including an M1 sniper rifle.

The fighting erupted two days after Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro rebels destroyed a bridge in the town of Indanan, scene of previous clashes that killed 42 gunmen and soldiers.

Last month, Abu Sayyaf gunmen also ambushed a US military convoy, killing two counterterrorism specialists SSG Jack Martin and SFC Christopher Shaw, and a Filipino marine PFC Erwin Estrada – in Kagay village also in the town of Indanan.

A police post was also bomb on Tuesday morning in the village of Kasanyangan in Jolo town, but there were no reports of casualties.

US troops are deployed in Sulu since 2006 and assisting the Philippine military in defeating the Abu Sayyaf. Although security officials deny US forces were directly involved in combat operations, there were numerous reports from civilians that American soldiers actually participated in the operations aimed at capturing or killing militant leaders in Sulu and other areas in the restive southern region of Mindanao.

A US soldier was also killed and another wounded in a bomb attack at a roadside cafe near an army in Zamboanga City in October 2002.

The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996, but many of its members were disgruntled with the accord and accused the government of failing to uplift their living standards.

Dolorfino said troops were tracking down at least four most senior Abu Sayyaf leaders – Dr Abu, Albader Parad, Isnilon Hapilon and Yasser Igasan – including two foreign Jemaah Islamiya terrorists Mauiya and Quayem and some 200 followers.

The series of attacks occurred just as troops continue their operation against the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants tagged as behind the series of bomb attacks and kidnappings for ransom in Sulu, one of five provinces under the troubled Muslim autonomous region.

Madarang Sali, deputy supreme commander of the Bangsamoro National Liberation Front, said military offensive against the MNLF continues in Sulu. He said government operations were directed as MNLF leader Khaid Ajibunm who had escaped a military raid last week. (Mindanao Examiner)

US, RP troops finish school building in Southern Philippines, pledge more humanitarian projects

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 3, 2008) – US and Philippine soldiers deployed in the southern island of Sulu have finished a school building, the 50th since 2006, and humanitarian and infrastructure projects have reached almost one billion pesos, a senior Filipino military commander said Friday.

Major general Juancho Sabban, the island’s military commander, said they handed over on Thursday to Sulu Governor Sakur Tan the four-room building worth more than six million pesos in Panamao town.

“The US has poured almost one billion pesos in various humanitarian and infrastructure projects in Sulu and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been supporting efforts to bring peace to the province through development projects,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Sabban said the project was funded by the US military in support to Manila’s peace and development efforts. “This is the 50th school buildings we have handed over to Governor Sakur Tan since 2006 and US and Philippine soldiers are hand-in-hand in helping the communities in Sulu in partnership with the provincial government,” he said.

Major Joseph Mouer, US Army commander, pledged more humanitarian projects in Sulu, where American forces are also training Filipino troops.

Tan, for his part, agreed to maintain the school buildings and other infrastructure projects built by the US and Philippine forces.

He praised US President George Bush for his support to peace and development in Sulu and also Kristie Kenney, the American ambassador to Manila, and the USAID (United States Agency for International Development), an independent government agency that provides economic development and humanitarian assistance to advance US economic and political interests overseas.

“Words are not enough to thank President George Bush and the American people for the continued support of the US in efforts to bring peace and development to Sulu,” Tan said.

He said the US also funded the renovation of the air port in Sulu worth $3 million. (Mindanao Examiner)

Two Marines Killed In South RP Ambush

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 16, 2008) – Unidentified gunmen ambushed two Filipino marines on Saturday in the southern Philippine island of Sulu, police said.

Police said the attack occurred in the village of Kandayok in Panamao town. The soldiers, identified only by their surnames as Custodio and Mirando, were on a motorcycle when attacked at around 9 a.m.

No group claimed responsibility for the killings and police is still investigating the motive of the attack.

Security forces have intensified the campaign against the proliferation of illegal weapons in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan has previously ordered police and military authorities to seize all illegal weapons and disband private armies, mostly bodyguards of political warlords in the province, and file criminal charges against anybody who violates the gun ban. (Mindanao Examiner)

US Troops Losing War For Hearts And Minds In Sulu

SULU ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 29, 2007) – Philippine authorities have began an investigation into disturbing reports that US troops deployed in Sulu province had ordered the closure of a government hospital in the town of Panamao.

The soldiers allegedly barged into the Panamao District Hospital on Dec. 3 and ordered its closure for a still unknown reason.

US troops are in Sulu province since early this year to assist and advice Filipino forces in fighting terrorism.

Dr Silak Lakkian, head of the hospital, has complained about how US troops meddled into their operations.

The news only broke out Saturday after local journalists learned about the incident, but US military officials were not available to make any statement.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan said he will personally on the reports involving US troops and has talked to Major General Reuben Rafael, commander of Philippine military forces in the province, about it.

“US troops have no authority to impose on us,” he said.

It was not immediately known whether the US military tried to cover up the incident, but General Rafael, also said that he will look into the reports. “We will look into this,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Local villagers and some Filipino troops also have complained about the arrogance of US soldiers in Sulu. Some US troops have allegedly treated Filipino soldiers like janitors and laborers in the province.

Heavily-armed US troops were also preventing curious Muslim villagers to go near them in public places as though the locals were terrorists.

American troops had in the past also harassed Filipino journalists who were covering joint RP-US military war games in Zamboanga City and Sulu and in some occasions arrested and seized the cameras of reporters who took photos and videos of them.

It was also in Sulu that hundreds of US soldiers slaughtered some 800 Muslim villagers, including innocent women and children, during the Moro rebellion in March 1906 that has become known as the First Battle of Bud (Mount) Dajo also called the “Moro Crater Massacre.”

During this battle, 790 men and officers, under the command of Colonel J.W. Duncan, assaulted the volcanic crater, which was held by several hundred rebels protecting Muslim villagers.

This dark part of history always hound US troops in Sulu where activists and villagers opposed their presence in the province. It was unknown how the Panamao incident will affect the presence of Americans in Sulu. (With reports from Nickee Butlangan and Juan Magtanggol)