Rogue MILF units stage attacks in Mindanao
12/26/2008 | 10:33 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Rogue units of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) staged separate attacks in Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato in southern Philippines on Thursday night, the military claimed Friday.
In an interview over radio dzBB, Armed Forces information chief Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres Jr said, however, that the harassment of villagers in Sultan Kudarat and of a Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in North Cotabato by "subleaders" of renegade MILF commanders like Ameril Umbra Kato did not result to any fatality.
The rebels ransacked the houses of and extorted money from some villagers in Salangsang village in Lebak town in Sultan Kudarat, Torres said.
"Ni-ransack nila yung ilang mga kabahayan ng mga civilians, saka nag-extort sila ng mga pera. Katunayan kinuha pa nila yung mga baril ng mga ex-soldier o retired soldiers natin na mga naninirahan sa lugar na yan (They ransacked the houses of some civilians and extorted money. As a matter of fact, they even stole some guns from retired soldiers living in the area)," he said.
In addition to the Sultan Kudarat attack, the rogue units also harassed Cafgus around 10 p.m. Thursday in Dunguan village in Aleosan town in North Cotabato, Torres said.
"Fortunately sa ginawang harrasment na ito wala namang nasawi (Fortunately in this harassment no one was killed)," he said.
Torres said the MILF's denials of staging such attacks are contrary to reports of military units in the area who said renegade MILF units are behind the attacks.
"We have official reports that some members of the MILF are the perpetrators of these attacks," said Torres.
"Mga sub-leaders ito ng ilang kumander kagaya nila Kato (These are sub-leaders of some commanders like Kato)," he added.
On Thursday, the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando said four civilians were killed and one was wounded when MILF rebels attacked a village in Ninoy Aquino town in Sultan Kudarat province on Tuesday.
Ando said the rebels killed three more people in another attack in Sultan Kudarat while they fired mortar rounds at a military detachment in a mountain village in Alamada town in North Cotabato on Wednesday, killing one civilian and wounding eight others.
But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied that the secessionist group is behind the attacks, dismissing Ando's report as "military propaganda."
"If anyone had been killed, the (rebel front) had nothing to do with it," Kabalu said.
Peace talks between the government and the MILF were halted after Kato and other renegade MILF commanders Sulayman Pangalian and Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo launched attacks in Lanao, Maguindanao and Sarangani provinces in August. The attacks came after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of an ancestral domain pact that would create a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.
The Supreme Court also eventually ruled the government-MILF memorandum of agreement on ancestal domain as unconstitutional.
The government, however, has expressed that it will resume negotiations with the secessionist group, and on Wednesday completed its new peace panel to be headed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV
In an interview over radio dzBB, Armed Forces information chief Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres Jr said, however, that the harassment of villagers in Sultan Kudarat and of a Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in North Cotabato by "subleaders" of renegade MILF commanders like Ameril Umbra Kato did not result to any fatality.
The rebels ransacked the houses of and extorted money from some villagers in Salangsang village in Lebak town in Sultan Kudarat, Torres said.
"Ni-ransack nila yung ilang mga kabahayan ng mga civilians, saka nag-extort sila ng mga pera. Katunayan kinuha pa nila yung mga baril ng mga ex-soldier o retired soldiers natin na mga naninirahan sa lugar na yan (They ransacked the houses of some civilians and extorted money. As a matter of fact, they even stole some guns from retired soldiers living in the area)," he said.
In addition to the Sultan Kudarat attack, the rogue units also harassed Cafgus around 10 p.m. Thursday in Dunguan village in Aleosan town in North Cotabato, Torres said.
"Fortunately sa ginawang harrasment na ito wala namang nasawi (Fortunately in this harassment no one was killed)," he said.
Torres said the MILF's denials of staging such attacks are contrary to reports of military units in the area who said renegade MILF units are behind the attacks.
"We have official reports that some members of the MILF are the perpetrators of these attacks," said Torres.
"Mga sub-leaders ito ng ilang kumander kagaya nila Kato (These are sub-leaders of some commanders like Kato)," he added.
On Thursday, the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando said four civilians were killed and one was wounded when MILF rebels attacked a village in Ninoy Aquino town in Sultan Kudarat province on Tuesday.
Ando said the rebels killed three more people in another attack in Sultan Kudarat while they fired mortar rounds at a military detachment in a mountain village in Alamada town in North Cotabato on Wednesday, killing one civilian and wounding eight others.
But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied that the secessionist group is behind the attacks, dismissing Ando's report as "military propaganda."
"If anyone had been killed, the (rebel front) had nothing to do with it," Kabalu said.
Peace talks between the government and the MILF were halted after Kato and other renegade MILF commanders Sulayman Pangalian and Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo launched attacks in Lanao, Maguindanao and Sarangani provinces in August. The attacks came after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of an ancestral domain pact that would create a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.
The Supreme Court also eventually ruled the government-MILF memorandum of agreement on ancestal domain as unconstitutional.
The government, however, has expressed that it will resume negotiations with the secessionist group, and on Wednesday completed its new peace panel to be headed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV
