MILF nagmatigas, hindi isusuko ang mga lider na sabig sa atake sa Mindanao

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Setyembre 19, 2009) - Nagmatigas ang Moro Islamic Liberation Front kahapon na hindi nito isusuko ang mga lider na isinabit ng militar at pulisya sa madugong atake sa Mindanao nuong nakaraang taon.

Unang hiningi ng pamahalaang Arroyo sa MILF na isuko sina Abdurahman Macapaar, Ameril Kato and Sulayman Pangalian na siyang itinuturong nasa likod ng paglusob sa Lanat at Sarangani, gayun rin sa North Cotabato at Maguindanao nuong nakaraang taon.

Maraming nasawi sa naturang atake at sinunog pa ng mga rebelde ang ilang kabahayan sa mga lalawigan.

Mismong si MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim ang nagsabing hindi nito isusuko ang mga lider dahil iimbestigahan pa ang mga ito ng shariah court.

Ito rin ang unang sinabi sa Abante ni Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, at Eid Kabalu, spokesman ng nasabing grupo. Itinanggi na noon ng mga lider ang kanilang pagkakasangkot sa atake na naganap matapos na mabasura ang Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain nuong Agosto. (Mindanao Examiner)

Two soldiers wounded in fresh MILF fighting in Mindanao

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5 killed in clashes between rebels and troops in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 17, 2008) – Two government soldiers and three MILF rebels were killed in fierce fighting in the southern Philippines, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said five rebels and a soldier were also wounded in the fighting Tuesday in the village of Bansayan in the town of Piagapo in Lanao del Sur, one of six provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

But troops recovered no bodies of the slain rebels, although an army spokeswoman Lt. Steffani Cacho, quoting intelligence reports, insisted that three MILF fighters were killed and five more wounded in the clash.

“Our troops continue the hunt for the lawless MILF group responsible for the crimes committed against the people of Lanao, especially Bravo and Pangalian,” Cacho told the Mindanao Examiner.

She said the rebels belonged to a rogue faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, blamed for a series of deadly attacks in August in Lanao del Sur and other areas in the autonomous region, a known stronghold of the MILF.

Cacho was referring to MILF leaders Abdullah Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, and Sulayman Pangalian who, along with Ameril Kato, another rebel commander, launched attacks in Lanao, Maguindanao and Sarangani provinces after the failed signing of the Muslim homeland deal, which would have created the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

Because of the attacks, President Gloria Arroyo disbanded the government peace panel negotiating with rebels and demanded the MILF to surrender the three commanders.

Manila has put up a P10 million bounties each for the capture of Macapaar, Kato and Pangalian. 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. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops Foil Bombings Of Bus Depot In Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 29, 2008) – Philippine troops disarmed three homemade bombs left at a bus depot in North Cotabato province in the restive region of Mindanao, south of the country, the army said Wednesday.

The improvised explosives were assembled from two 81mm and a 60mm mortar bombs and connected to blasting caps and batteries and left at the depot in Kabacan town, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division.

Ando said the bombs, concealed inside cardboard box, were discovered by civilians who informed authorities about it. No group claimed responsibility for the foiled attack, but Ando blamed rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as behind the foiled bombing.

“We suspect lawless MILF groups as behind this foiled attack because there is an ongoing operation against them,” Ando told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ando was referring to Ameril Kato, Abdullah Macapaar and Sulayman Pangalian, who led a series of deadly attacks against civilian targets in August after the failed signing of the Muslim territorial deal with the MILF.

Manila suspended peace talks with the rebel group because of the attacks that killed and wounded dozens of people in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces.

Police and military authorities previously blamed the spate of bus depot bombings to the Al-Khobar gang. (Mindanao Examiner)

6 Soldiers Killed In Mindanao Fighting

MAGUINDANAO CITY, Philippine (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 22, 2008) – Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels killed at least six government soldiers and wounded nine more in fierce fighting in the southern Philippines.

The MILF said rebel forces attacked government troops in the village of Muslim in Maguindanao's Guindulongan town on Tuesday. "Four army soldiers were killed and three others wounded when a group of MILF mujahideen staged an ambush," it said.

Fighting also erupted in Poona Piagapo town in Lanao del Sur province on Tuesday that left two soldiers dead and six others wounded. One rebel was reportedly killed in the fighting.

Security forces were pursuing rebels under Ameril Kato, Abdullah Macapaar and Sulayman Pangalian who blamed for the series of deadly attacks in Mindanao.

Macapaar on Monday surfaced and warned of more hostilities in Mindanao until the Arroyo government honors its commitment to the MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination the past three decades.

Macapaar was referring to the aborted signing August 5 of the territorial deal between Manila and the MILF after the Supreme Court ruled the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) was unconstitutional.

The deal would have granted more than four million Muslims their own homeland across more 700 villages in Mindanao.

"We want to have peace in Mindanao. It is good that the MOA-AD was not signed because now we want independence for the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao. We are willing to risk our lives until we achieve peace and Islamic justice in Mindanao," Macapaar said.

He accused President Arroyo of reneging on the peace agreement. He warned that rebels will resort to aggression until Manila cedes control of Mindanao to the Bangsamoro people, which refer to the Muslim inhabitants of Mindanao.

The military criticized Macapaar for his statement and the killings of civilians by his group were against the teachings of Islam.

"More than anything else, the statements given by Macapaar, justifying their ruthless attack against unarmed and hapless civilians, the pillaging of their properties and the burning of their houses in Lanao del Norte manifest the psychological conditioning that they underwent. To remove their guilt, he and his followers have dehumanized their victims," said Col. Daniel Lucero, commander of the Army's Civil-Relations Group.

Army Captain Mohdee Pulalon, a former Muslim rebel, also accused Macapaar of murdering innocent civilians. "His statements, justifying these killings and terrorist acts as a divine calling are blasphemous. Killing of innocent people is against Islam," he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Fighting Flares Up In Muslim Mindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 21, 2008) – Philippine Muslim rebels clashed Tuesday with government forces in the restive region of Mindanao, where sporadic fighting had killed and wounded hundred of people in recent months.

One soldier was reportedly wounded in a series of fighting that erupted in the town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

There were no immediate reports of MILF casualties, but thousands of troops were pursuing rebels under Ameril Kato, Abdullah Macapaar and Sulayman Pangalian, blamed for leading deadly attacks in August on civilian targets in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces which eventually spread to other areas in Mindanao.

The clashes broke out a day after Macapaar surfaced from hiding and vowed to continue hostilities until the Arroyo government honor its commitment to the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination the past three decades.

Macapaar was referring to the aborted signing August 5 of the territorial deal between Manila and the MILF after the Supreme Court ruled the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) was unconstitutional.

The deal would have granted more than four million Muslims their own homeland across more 700 villages in Mindanao.

“We want to have peace in Mindanao. It is good that the MOA-AD was not signed because now we want independence for the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao. We are willing to risk our lives until we achieve peace and Islamic justice in Mindanao,” Macapaar said in a clandestine interview by ABS-CBN television.

He accused President Arroyo of reneging on the peace agreement. He warned that rebels will resort to aggression until Manila cedes control of Mindanao to the Bangsamoro people.

Bangsamoro refers to Muslim inhabitants of Mindanao.

Manila has put up a P10 million bounties each for the capture of Macapaar, Kato and Pangalian and Arroyo demanded the MILF to surrender the trio. She also pulled out from the peace talks with the MILF and disbanded the government team negotiating with rebels and scrapped the MOA-AD. (Mindanao Examiner)