2 soldiers killed outside army base in Basilan province

ISABELA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 28, 2009) – Unidentified gunmen killed two soldiers in an attack just outside an army camp in the restive province Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said two had just bought a cigarette from a store outside their camp in Tipo-Tipo town when gunmen attacked them late Saturday.

“We are still investigating the attack. We don’t know who were behind the attack,” First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Cacho did not release the soldiers’ names or say if they were armed or not at the time of the attack. She said the victims were members of the 55th Engineering Brigade deployed in Basilan to repair dilapidated schools.

But police identified the slain soldiers as Technical Sergeant Luciano Abcede and Private First Class Danny Salian.

“We have sent police forces to hunt down the attackers. We don’t know the motive of the killings. Investigation is going on,” said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief.

Tipo-Tipo is a known lair of Moro rebels blamed for many attacks on security forces. US troops are also deployed in Basilan and helping local soldiers in various humanitarian missions. It was not immediately known whether American forces are also deployed in Tipo-Tipo.

Basilan is one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao and a stronghold of various rebel groups, including the most violent al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Mindanao Examiner)

MILF rebels attack village, kill 3 in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 13, 2008) – Suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels attacked Saturday a village in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, killing two government militias and woman, officials said.

Officials said three more civilians were seized by rebels, using them as shield against pursuing soldiers in the outskirts of Lamitan City. The rebels were led by MILF commander Usman, whose base is in Tipo-Tipo town.

“The rebels opened on houses and killing two militias and a woman,” Mayor Roderick Furigay was quoted as saying.

Nick Castro, the mayor’s aide, identified those killed as Nonie Sahilon, Cesar Alberto and his wife Dahlia Alberto. “The attack forced more than 120 families to flee their homes and sought shelter to safer areas. Mayor Furigay already sent aid workers to assist the refugees,” he said told the Mindanao Examiner.

Castro said many of those who fled their homes are staying at the Balobo Elementary School.

But the military blamed the attack on the Abu Sayyaf group. Our reports said the Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the attack,” said Lt. Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command headquarters, based in Zamboanga City.

She said the Abu Sayyaf is holding the three civilians. “They are being used as human shield by the Abu Sayyaf. The operation against the Abu Sayyaf is going on,” she told reporters.

The military accused the MILF of sheltering the Abu Sayyaf, but rebel leaders denied the allegations and said security forces were just using the operations against the militant group to attack them.

Peace talks between the MILF and the Arroyo government collapsed after the failed signing of the Muslim ancestral domain accord in August. Since then, fighting erupted in many areas in the southern Philippines despite a seven-year old truce.

President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 in an effort to end more than three decades of bloody secessionist war in Mindanao, a region rich in natural resources. (Mindanao Examiner)

Four Aid Workers Kidnapped In Southern Philippines

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 15, 2008) – Four aid workers have been kidnapped Monday in the island of Basilan, a known stronghold of Moro rebels in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police identified the victims as Esperancita Hupida, Millet Mendoza, Ludy Borja Dekit and Dionisio Estandarte. Two others – Romeo Delos Reyes and Sahida Alasa – managed to escape from their captors.

They were in two vehicles when ten gunmen intercepted them before noontime near the Kabangalan village in Tipo-Tipo town, where Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels are actively operating, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the island’s police chief.

“Police and military forces are tracking down the hostages. We still do not know who were behind the latest kidnappings,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The victims were members of the Christian Children’s Fund and the Nagdilaab Foundation, which are both active in various humanitarian projects in Basilan, just several miles off Zamboanga City.

Police said one of the hostages, Esperancita Hupida, is the program director of the Nagdilaab Foundation.

Father Angel Calvo, a Catholic missionary and head of the Peace Advocate Zamboanga, appealed to kidnappers to free the hostages. He said the kidnappers are holding a fifth hostage, who was helping coordinate humanitarian projects in Basilan.

Calvo said the hostages are community development workers who have been serving the Muslim communities in Basilan for many years now.

He said the victims were on their way back to Isabela City from a meeting with town officials when the gunmen flagged down the vehicles.

The Nagdilaab Foundation was last month conferred the Ateneo Peace Award in Zamboanga City because of its dedicated leadership and unwavering involvement in the “Pantabangan Basulta,” a consortium of ten non-government organizations that engage and support local leaders and multisectoral constituents in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to develop sustainable interventions to promote peace and development in partnership with communities and stake-holders.

NFI spun off the Isabela Foundation, which was organized many years ago by the Roman Catholic prelature of Basilan to provide community and humanitarian help to poor residents in the province.

Suspected 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 Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri, both known leaders of the Abu Sayyaf group. (Mindanao Examiner)

Security Forces Foil Abu Sayyaf Raid In Basilan Island

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 29, 2008) – Police and soldiers foiled an Abu Sayyaf raid Tuesday on a small town in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, where security forces are battling militants tied to Jemaah Islamiya.

Security forces briefly battled some 100 Abu Sayyaf gunmen, backed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels near Tipo-Tipo town. The gunmen retreated after more soldiers arrived in the town to reinforce a small police team holding back the militants.

“There were no reports of casualties, but the Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels tried to enter the town,” Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the island’s police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said he deployed more policemen to Tipo-Tipo to beef up security forces in the town. Policemen last week also seized a motorcycle allegedly owned by the Abu Sayyaf at a checkpoint in Tipo-Tipo town, but it was not immediately known if it was connected to the foiled raid.

Police tagged Nurhassan Jamiri, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf and Commander Long, of the MILF, as behind the failed attack. The two had been previously linked to kidnapping and attacks on soldiers in Basilan island, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group.

The MILF has previously denied involvements in past attacks and pointed to the Abu Sayyaf as behind the spate of terrorism on the island, several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.

Last year, Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels killed and decapitated dozens of soldiers in Basilan after false military intelligence reports led them astray inside rebel territories in Al-Barka town where a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was being held.

Bossi was freed by MILF rebels in Lanao province in exchange for a huge government ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Troops Shell MILF Camps

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2 MILF Mujahideen Killed, 11 Troops Wounded In Basilan Clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 25, 2008) – At least ten government soldiers were wounded in fierce fighting Sunday with Muslim rebels in the southern Filipino island of Basilan, officials said.

Philippine Marines chief General Mohammad Dolorfino said Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, backed by the Abu Sayyaf, attacked a military detachment in Tongbato village in Ungkaya Pukan town near Tipo-Tipo town.

“Ten soldiers were wounded in the raid,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

They also ambushed government reinforcement in the nearby village Matarling, wounding one more soldier. “A V150 armored vehicle was also damaged from a landmine explosion,” Dolorfino said.

The MILF said troops first attacked rebel forces in Tipo-Tipo. It also denied that Abu Sayyaf militants had joined the MILF in the fighting. “The soldiers attacked our positions in Tipo-Tipo town and fighting is going on and there is no Abu Sayyaf in our group,” Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said in a separate interview.

The MILF is currently negotiating peace with Manila, but despite a cease-fire accord sporadic fighting still continue in many parts of Mindanao with rebels and soldiers accusing each other of breaking the truce.

Police also deployed forces in the area to secure the civilians. It did not say how many people had fled their homes. “We are awaiting reports from the ground,” said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief.

Iqbal said government troops attacked the MILF forces, triggering a fierce firefight. “The military violated again the cease-fire agreement. Our forces are just responding to military attacks and rebels are only defending themselves,” he said.

The MILF has repeatedly warned security forces to stay away near rebel camps and soldiers had been reported encroaching in those areas and sparking sporadic clashes.

Last week, soldiers fired on armed rebels working at a farm in Baguindan village, igniting hours of sporadic clashes in Tipo-Tipo town, Iqbal said.

Military officials have issued conflicting statements about the fighting and said troops clashes with the Abu Sayyaf. Other officials said the MILF attacked a group of marines securing a road project in the town.

The MILF has accused the Arroyo government of delaying the peace talks after negotiations were stalled last year over demands for Muslim ancestral domain.

Rebel leaders said the ancestral domain is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before they can reach a political settlement and with the talks stalled; the hope of ending more than three decades of bloody hostilities remains dim.

Manila said the provisions of the peace agreement should be within the framework of the Constitution. Government negotiators, led by Rodolfo Garcia, had previously approved the ancestral domain only to renege on the deal later.

Sporadic clashes had been reported in Mindanao since last month after Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks, pulled out its truce observers because of the slow progress of the negotiations. Malaysia has blamed the Arroyo government for the delay in the talks.

Security forces also raided the house of Mike Dalem, an MILF political officer, in Buluan town in Maguindanao province last week. Iqbal said the raid was illegal and violated the cease-fire agreement the government signed with the MILF.

The MILF previously said the Philippine military have been building up its forces in Mindanao the past weeks and it fears that renewed hostilities may break out because troops were reported massing near areas controlled by rebels in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces. (Mindanao Examiner)

Fighting Stops, But Tension Is High In Mindanao: MILF

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Al Jacinto / May 16, 2008) – Fighting ceased Friday between Muslim rebels and government troops in the southern Filipino island of Basilan island, but tension is still high as both sides accused each other of violating a fragile truce.

“There is still tension because of the skirmishes in Basilan. We are more vigilant now than ever after soldiers attacked our forces in the province,” Mohagher Iqbal, chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, told Mindanao Examiner.

Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF. But the rebel group accused the Arroyo government of delaying the peace talks after negotiations were stalled last year over demands for ancestral domain.

The ancestral domain is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the MILF can reach a political settlement and with the talks stalled; the hope of ending more than three decades of bloody hostilities remains dim.

Manila said the provisions of the peace agreement should be within the framework of the Constitution.

The fighting in Basilan Island just off Zamboanga City was triggered by attacks on rebels working on a farm, Iqbal said. But the military accused the MILF of attacking a group of marines securing a road project in the town of Tipo-Tipo.

"It was the rebels who first attacked our security forces and troops only retaliated, but the fighting is not as serious as what the MILF claimed. There are exchanges of sniper fires between our troops and rebels and we have no reports of casualties," said Marines Chief Gen. Mohammad Dolorfino.

The fighting erupted after Malaysia, which is brokering the peace, pulled out its truce observers last week in Mindanao because of the slow progress of the negotiations.

Iqbal said security forces also raided the house of Mike Dalem, an MILF political officer, in the Buluan town in Maguindanao province in the main island of Mindanao.

“Dalem was on the mosque praying when soldiers swooped down of his house and confiscated munitions owned by the MILF,” he said.

It was not immediately known whether the raid was with a court order or not. Iqbal said the raid was illegal and violated the cease-fire agreement the government signed with the MILF. “This is a clear violation of the cease-fire agreement,” he said.

The MILF is the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in Mindanao. The rebels repeatedly warned that fighting could erupt if Malaysia pulls out its truce observers.

The Philippine military have been building up its forces in Mindanao the past weeks and the MILF fears that renewed hostilities may break out because troops were reported massing near areas controlled by rebels in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces. (Mindanao Examiner)

Fierce Fighting Erupts In Basilan Island

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Rebels Blamed AFP Generals For Hostilities In South RP

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 30, 2007) – Muslim rebels have blamed Filipino military generals as behind fresh hostilities in the southern Philippines.

Fighting had killed 2 soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others, including a civilian in the villages of Baguindanan and Silangkum in the town of Tipo-Tipo in Basilan island last week.

"They have not coordinated with us and went inside a territory and attacked our members without provocation," said Hamza Sapanton, a senior MILF leader in Basilan island.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of marine forces on the island, said troops were pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants in Tipo-Tipo.

Sapanton said government soldiers were attacking them in the guise of pursuing the Abu Sayyaf, a small but the most violent rebel group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya and blamed for the spate of killings and kidnappings in the southern Philippines.

"The military generals are themselves the problem. They are always lying to the media about everything," he said. The MILF said it has protested the attack on Basilan.

Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for a separate homeland in Mindanao. But despite a truce signed in 2001, sporadic clashes still continue in many parts of the region.

In July, MILF forces killed 14 Marines in a firefight after soldiers entered a rebel stronghold in the town of Al-Barka near Tipo-Tipo without proper coordination. Dozens of soldiers were also killed and wounded the next month in fierce clashes between security and rebel forces in the area.

Marine Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said the MILF is coddling the Abu Sayyaf, an accusation strongly denied by the rebel group.

"The MILF is not coddling the Abu Sayyaf. We are not coddling terrorists and the MILF has repeatedly and publicly denounced terrorism. We have on many times condemned violence and terrorism," Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Peace talks have been stalled since last year after both sides failed to agree on the issue of the Muslim ancestral domain, which refers to the rebel demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland. It is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops Press For Sayyaf, MILF Hunt In South RP Island

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 27 Sept) – Security forces on Thursday continue hunting down Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro rebels blamed for the killing of two government soldiers in fierce clashes in Basilan island, south of the Philippines.

Officials said civilians were also providing vital intelligence about the militants, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda terror network and Jemaah Islamiya, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“Civilians are passing us information about the terrorists. Security forces are also tracking down the terrorists,” Army Maj. Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.

The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, accused the Philippine military of violating the truce when soldiers attacked rebel forces in the villages of Baguindan and Silangkum in Tipo-Tipo town on Tuesday.

The daylong clashes killed two army soldiers and wounded 10 more.

Batara said ten gunmen were also killed in the fighting, but Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, denied the report. “We have no casualties,” he said in a separate interview.

He said MILF forces under Hamza Sapanton clashed with government soldiers in Tipo-Tipo town.

Maj. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the First Infantry Division, said that troops were fighting combined MILF and Abu Sayyaf forces in Basilan. He accused the MILF of colluding with the Abu Sayyaf group.

“My soldiers are fighting the rebels and Abu Sayyaf terrorists who joined forces in Basilan,” he said.

Batara said security forces were pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants and MILF rebels in Basilan island, blamed for the killing of 14 soldiers, ten of whom were beheaded in July in fierce fighting in Al-Barka town near Tipo-Tipo.

The fighting erupted after troops entered an MILF stronghold in the guise of pursuing Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, wanted both by Manila and Washington for killing two kidnapped US citizens in 2001.

The military accused the MILF of coddling the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippines.

Manila opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and both sides signed a truce, but despite the truce fighting still continue in some areas in the southern Philippines.

The MILF is fighting the past decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops Attack MILF Forces In Southern Philippine Island

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 26 Sept) – The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on Wednesday accused government soldiers of attacking its forces in the southern island of Basilan.

The fighting which began Tuesday in Tipo-Tipo town left 10 rebels and two soldiers dead, said Army Maj. Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command. But the MILF said troops attacked rebels in the villages of Baguindan and Silangkum, sparking daylong clashes in Tipo-Tipo town.

“The Philippine military has again violated the cease-fire agreement. Government troops attacked MILF forces without provocation,” Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner. Kabalu also denied that 10 rebels were killed.

Supt. Salik Macapantar, Basilan police chief, on Wednesday confirmed the fighting in Tipo-Tipo town were between government forces and Abu Sayyaf militants, backed by MILF rebels.

He said two Abu Sayyaf gunmen and three MILF fighters were killed in sporadic clashes and that 14 government soldiers and militiaman have been wounded also. A high-school student was hit with a stray bullet, but is alive.

“Five gunmen are dead and 14 soldiers wounded, including a pro-government militiaman. One student was also wounded,” he said in an interview.

Maj. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, commander of army forces in western Mindanao, also said that troops were fighting combined MILF and Abu Sayyaf forces in Basilan.

“The operation is on going against the MILF and Abu Sayyaf forces responsible in the hostilities in Basilan,” he said in a separate interview on Wednesday.

Kabalu said MILF forces were ordered to remain in heightened alert and defend themselves against government offensive. “We don't want any hostilities, but MILF members are ready to themselves,” he said.

It was unknown how the latest fighting would affect the peace talks, which have been stalled since last year, after the MILF and the government failed to sign any deal on the ancestral domain. It is one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations before both sides could sign a peace agreement. The ancestral domain covers almost all of the provinces in Mindanao, including the islands of Palawan, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Security officials in Basilan island ignored telephone calls from journalists and declined to give any statement about the latest fighting. Police said the fighting on Tuesday broke out after patrolling security forces ran into a group of armed men and a firefight ensued.

Batara said security forces were pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants and MILF rebels in Basilan island, blamed for the killing of 14 soldiers, ten of whom were beheaded in July in fierce fighting in Al-Barka town near Tipo-Tipo.

The fighting erupted after troops entered an MILF stronghold in the guise of pursuing Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, wanted both by Manila and Washington for killing two kidnapped US citizens in 2001. The military accused the MILF of coddling the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippines.

Manila opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and both sides signed a truce, but despite the truce fighting still continue in some areas in the southern Philippines. The MILF is fighting the past decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state similar to Iran. (Mindanao Examiner)

3 Wounded In Basilan Clash

BASILAN ISLAND, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 25 Sept) - Government forces clashed with a group of gunmen on Tuesday in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, leaving three people wounded, police said.

Police said sporadic fighting between soldiers and gunmen were reported in the villages of Baguindan and Silangkum, all in Tipo-Tipo town, a known stronghold of the Muslim separatist rebels Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Two gunmen and a high school student are wounded in the fighting in Tipo-Tipo town and we have deployed police forces in the area to secure the civilians,” said Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief.

Macapantar said the student was hit with a stray bullet while the two wounded gunmen managed to escape. He said the hostilities broke out after patrolling security forces ran into a group of armed men and a firefight ensued.

“There are no reports of military casualties,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Macapantar would not say if the gunmen were MILF rebels or Abu Sayyaf militants. “We cannot say whether the gunmen are rebels or Abu Sayyaf, except that the area is a known sanctuary of the MILF,” he said.

Security forces were pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan island, blamed for the beheading in July of ten Marines in Al-Barka town near Tipo-Tipo.

The MILF did not say if the gunmen were rebels or not. The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for the establishment of a strict Islamic state similar to Iran.

Manila opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and both sides signed a cease-fire agreement, but despite the truce fighting still continue in some areas in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunman Kills Soldier In Basilan Attack

BASILAN ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Oct) - An unidentified gunman shot dead a government soldier and wounded another in a daring attack Tuesday at a busy market in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, a regional military commander said.

"We have ordered troops to hunt down those responsible in the killing of the soldier and the wounding of another infantrymen," Brig. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army's 1st Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the two soldiers were buying provision when the gunman shot them in front of civilians at around 7.30 a.m. in Tipo-Tipo town. "We still don't know who was behind the attack. There is an investigation going on," he said.

Witnesses told the military that the gunman casually walked away after the shooting.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the killing, but the town is a known lair of Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The slain soldier and his wounded companion were airlifted to a military hospital in Zamboanga City. (With a report from Uly Israel)