Civilians flee homes as clashes erupt in Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines - Fighting between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerillas erupted in Aleosan town, North Cotabato Tuesday morning, forcing civilians to abandon their homes to flee the hostilities. In a report, Lieutenant Colonel Diosdado Carreon, commanding officer of the Army's 40th Infantry Division, said fresh hostilities erupted after his troops encountered some 100 MILF rebels in Sitio Tubak, Brgy. Pagangan around 8:30 a.m. Separate reports indicate that the fighting prompted hundreds of civilians to evacuate to safer grounds to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Colonel Julieto Ando, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division,said troops from the Army's 40th infantry battalion was patrolling in the area when they were attacked by the armed men. Ando said the arm group first attacked a military checkpoint in the area prompting government troops to engage the armed men in a firefight. The officer said the Army and PNP is setting up checkpoints along the Cotabato-Davao highways to ensure safety of commuters passing the area. On the other hand, the MILF blamed the military for the eruption of fresh fighting in the province. In an interview on dxMS radio, MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said members of the 40th infantry attacked the natives and some MILF settlers in the area. Kabalu, however, did not confirm whether the armed men who engaged Army troops in a firefight are members of MILF but said he is certain that there are MILF elements in Sitio Tugal. Fresh hostilities in North Cotabato erupted came at the heels of the Army's confirmation of a large troop movement in Cotabato. On Monday, three military trucks loaded with soldiers coming from the southern part of Cotabato province headed towards Matalam and Kabacan towns, where hundreds of MILF rebels were sighted massing. The Army deployment came few hours after some 30 armed men, believed to be MILF rebels, launched a daylight attack against a group of farmers in Sitio Maligaya, Barangay Malamote in Matalam that left one person wounded. The Army, however, said the troop movement was not in preparation for an offensive against MILF positions in the province. The peace talks between the government and the MILF have been stalled since December last year over the ancestral domain issue. Both the government and the secessionist group are rushing to revive the peace talks before an International Monitoring Team (IMT) sent to Mindanao leaves on August 31. - GMANews.TV