AFP, MILF exchange charges of cease-fire violation

Amid an exchange of truce violation raps by the military and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Basilan, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on Saturday ordered a sustained offensive against Abu Sayyaf rebels in the troubled southern island. An angry Teodoro said there will be no letup in the military’s campaign to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for a recent surge in kidnap-for-ransom cases in Basilan and nearby Sulu island province. “Patuloy nating ipaalala ang kanilang laban kontra terorismo, hindi natin ititigil ang laban (We will honor their (fallen soldiers') memory and their fight against terrorism. We will continue the fight)," Teodoro said on government-run dzRB radio. Teodoro accompanied President Arroyo in viewing the remains of the slain soldiers at the military’s Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) in Zamboanga City. At least 23 soldiers and 31 guerrillas were reported killed in fighting that ensued after government forces attacked Abu Sayyaf camps in the hinterland town of Unkaya Pukan in Basilan on Wednesday. [See: 54 killed in day-long firefight in Basilan] More than 400 Marines, Army and police commandos stormed the hilltop camps following reports that the militants were undergoing training on terrorism and manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). When fighting subsided, the military accused the MILF of aiding the Abu Sayyaf, in violation of a standing truce between the government and the separatist group. Formal protests The government is trying to revive peace negotiations with the MILF that collapsed last year over differences on the coverage of a proposed Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines. On Friday, the MILF said 10 of the rebel fatalities were its fighters who were killed defending their position in Unkaya Pukan. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officials said they will file a formal complaint against the MILF before the government and the MILF's Joint Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities. MILF information officer Mohagher Iqbal said his group was also preparing its own complaint against the military for attacking MILF positions. Iqbal said clashes between MILF and government forces would have not occurred had the military informed the separatist group that offensives would be launched against the Abu Sayyaf. Iqbal claimed the military had tracked down the Abu Sayyaf so that it could also attack the MILF. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu admitted Friday the MILF members were involved and that individual MILF members may have been related to the Abu Sayyaf members “by consanguinity or affinity," but denied the MILF and Abu Sayyaf are in cahoots. The Abu Sayyaf has ties to the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which in turn has ties with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. Naval blockade To prevent Abu Sayyaf bandits from escaping, government forces have began patrolling the waters of Basilan. "Ang ibig sabihin nun nagpa-patrol tayo in the area to make sure na ‘yung objective natin, which at this case ay yung hindi makalabas, yun ang ginagawa natin(It means we are patrolling to make sure that they will not be able to escape)," military spokesman Edgard Arevalo said in an interview. AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the bandits were likely to escape to the neighboring provinces of Sulu and Zamboanga Sibugay. Arevalo said he did not know how many ships were deployed, but three patrol gunboats and multi-purpose attack craft were included. Brawner said there was no need to augment government forces in the area. Mutilation In its website Luwaran.com, the MILF accused Marines of mutilating the bodies of at least three MILF fighters. “One of the mutilated fatalities was a ground commander who fiercely fought the Marines who surprisingly attacked their positions at Sitio Kapayagan, Barangay Baguindan. His neck was lacerated apparently by a bladed weapon and his ears were cut off," it said. It said the two other mutilated dead bodies are of MILF forces. “They were (hogtied) and several body parts were severe(d) using bladed weapons. Internal organs came out their stomach," the MILF said. According to the MILF, troops of the Marines Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) 10 Philippine Marines attacked the MILF forces at Sitio Kapayagan, Barangay Baguindan around 7 a.m. Wednesday. It said the attack against the MILF forces came hours after a different group of Marines attacked the Abu Sayyaf at Sitio Kurellem, Barangay Silangkum, Ungkaya Pukan town. “Barangay Baguindan, Tipo-Tipo, is a known community of MILF political leaders and military officials of the MILF to all, including the government armed forces. Barangay Silangkum in Ungkaya Pukan where the first marine troops attacked the ASG is a neighboring barangay of Baguindan," the MILF said. The MILF also disputed the claims of the military that the Marines did not attack the MILF forces, and that they coordinated with the MILF the conduct of operations against the Abu Sayyaf. “Both claims of the Marines were vehemently belied by MILF leaders, saying the marines treacherously attacked the MILF after they attacked the ASG. They also said that there was not a coordination made by the Marines to the MILF pertaining to the attack to ASG," the MILF said. 'No mutilation' Secretary Teodoro, meanwhile, denied reports that some of the soldiers were mutilated, saying the Abu Sayyaf did not have the chance to get near them during the fight. However, he said one of the slain soldiers had a hack mark. He also said they have yet to verify reports the Abu Sayyaf sent a text message to a slain soldier’s wife that they killed him. “Ang katawan ng sundalo di nagkaroopn ng chance ang kalaban na lapitan ang sundalo (The enemy did not have a chance to get near the bodies of our soldiers)," Teodoro said. On the other hand, he lauded some widows of the slain soldiers who he said voiced hopes their husbands did not die in vain. He said one of them even said she hoped the death of her husband would mean less chances of the Abu Sayyaf abducting a child in Mindanao. Tribute to fallen soldiers President Arroyo on Saturday morning paid tribute to the 23 fallen soldiers, conferring on them posthumous military merit medals and condoling with their families. Government-run dzRB radio reported that Mrs. Arroyo wore a gray mourning suit as she arrived at the gymnasium of the military’s Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom). Accompanied by Defense SecretaryTeodoro and WesMinCom head Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, the President also attended a prayer for the 23 soldiers and visited a military hospital where several other soldiers and policemen injured in the operation were being treated. Mrs. Arroyo gave the families of the slain soldiers financial assistance of P250,000 each, job opportunities for their widows, and scholarships for their children. - GMANews.TV