5 civilians hurt in military offensives in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Five civilians were wounded in a series of military bombardment in the southern Philippines, where troops are battling Moro rebels after the peace talks collapsed last August. A victim said he escaped from a military assault, but was wounded after he was shot by a soldier in Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Mindanao Tulong Bakwet, a Filipino relief organization, said four of those wounded were hit by shrapnel fired by soldiers from howitzer cannons Friday. Fighting between troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels over the past months has displaced more than half a million people in ARMM and the surrounding provinces in Central Mindanao. Fairuds Ebus, MTB executive director, said all the victims were Muslims. She said Abdulrahman Gandawali, 40, a war refugee, was hit by shrapnel Oct. 31 near a market in the village of Libutan in Mamasapano town. On Nov. 01, troops also fired cannons towards MILF positions, but a farmer, Muslim Lumban, 80, was hit by shrapnel while fixing rice bags in the village of Kalipapa in Datu Piang town. A 55-year-old Saguira Ibrahim was also wounded while crossing a highway Nov. 2 in the village of Sakbu in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town. Another victim, Morsid Guino, 25, was hit by shrapnel Nov. 3 outside a refugee shelter in nearby Dapiawan village. Relief workers were also forced to stop their operations in Dapiawan village on Monday after cannon hit a water source just 20 meters from the refugee shelter. "We have to stop the issuance of food tickets because the refugees were so afraid," said Aldan Agom, head of the MTB relief team. The MTB said another refugee, Esmael Adam, was shot by soldiers, but survived to tell his tale about how he escaped death. Adam, who was reported missing since Oct. 21, was rescued near a swamp a week later by villagers in Datu Saudi Ampatuan. Adam said army soldiers, who were searching for MILF leader Ameril Umbra Kato, opened fire on his house in Dapiawan village. Ebus said seven children were also hurt when a bomb exploded Sept. 26 near the Datu Gumbay Elementary School, which served as a temporary refugee shelter in the town. Seven people, including five children, were killed Sept. 8 after a military plane fired on a civilian boat in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province. The military denied all allegations of human rights violations and blamed leftist and militant organizations for what it called black propaganda. "We need to verify all these accounts and other allegations of human rights violations, but as far as the military is concerned, the duty of the soldiers is to protect the lives and properties of civilians," said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army's 6th Infantry Division. Several Filipino human rights groups have blamed both government soldiers and MILF rebels in the escalation of hostilities and the mounting crisis in Mindanao. Moro rebels were also being blamed for deadly attacks against civilian targets in Mindanao provinces in August after the MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group, failed to sign a homeland deal with the government. Because of the attacks, President Arroyo scrapped the Muslim ancestral domain deal with the rebels and disbanded the government team negotiating with the MILF. - GMANews.TV