AFP: 2 dead, 4 wounded in MNLF attack in Sulu

A government soldier and a Moro rebel were killed while four other troops were wounded Saturday in an encounter in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, a military spokesman said on Sunday. Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. David Hontiveros said the slain rebel belonged to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) faction that refuses to honor the peace agreement with the government. Hontiveros said the soldiers were checking reports on the presence of armed men in Barangay Patibulan in Panamao town when attacked by the rebels, reportedly under Haber Malik, a known supporter of former MNLF chairman Nur Misuari, at around 6:45 a.m. The soldiers pursued the MNLF fighters and engaged them in another firefight around 9 a.m., resulting in the death of the soldier and wounding of four other troops, according to Hontiveros. Hontiveros did not identify the slain soldier pending notification of his family. The MNLF has maintained its armed units despite signing a peace agreement with the government in September 1996. Many of its members have been disgruntled with the accord and accused the government of failing to uplift their living standards. The MNLF recently grabbed the headlines when some of its rogue members occupied an island in Palawan province and held several families there hostage for days. Misuari, who founded the MNLF in the early 1970s, was elected governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) shortly after the signing of the agreement. He was however ousted in 2001 by some of the group's senior leaders for allegedly being incompetent. In November 2001, on the eve of ARMM elections, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement and launched a new rebellion in Sulu and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed. When the fighting ceased, Misuari escaped by boat to Malaysia where he was arrested. He was then deported to the Philippines. Despite this, many MNLF fighters have remained loyal to him. - GMANews.TV