Military denies unusual troops movement into MILF territories

A military commander in Mindanao on Wednesday belied allegations that troops have moved into a town in Lanao del Norte province, violating coordination agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF has accused government troops of encroachment into its territory. But Colonel Leo Ferrer, 601st Infantry Battalion brigade commander, said his soldiers had moved into Barangay Biruar in Tangkal town in coordination with the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH). In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Ferrer said his brigade respects the agreement on the suspension of military offensives (SOMO) between the government and the MILF, as the two camps are engaged in peace negotiations. “The accusation that we violated rules on the movement of troops is not true. Please check it out with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP)-CCCH." Ferrer even countered the allegation by saying that the MILF is expanding its turf outside of the agreed area of temporary stay (ATS). But in its Website luwaran.com, the MILF alleged that Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) troops made “unusual" movements toward MILF communities. It said that the movement of government troops toward Barangay Guinanta in Al barka town in Basilan recently has created “a tense confrontation standoff." The AFP made unusual sudden movements in towns of Basilan and Lanao del Norte the past days, it said. “MILF forces in the area hit these movements as undermining the progress of the peace negotiations... and the declaration of SOMO," it said, adding that Marines troops arrived last December 20, 2009 at Magkawa, which is less than a kilometer away from Guinanta community, and that a military outpost was erected nearby. The Bravo Company of the 35th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army was deployed on December 29 in Biruar, according to Hadji Ahmad Lao, a member of the MILF-CCCH in Lanao. Additional troops arrived Wednesday in Biruar and the neighboring Banisulun village, signaling an eventual military operation in the area against MILF positions, Lao added. The Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities (AGCH) between the government and MILF enjoined both parties to avoid confrontational situation between their troops by observing prior coordination through the GRP-MILF CCCH. Non-coordination of movements of troops by either party constitutes a violation to the truce. Major John Sol, a GRP-CCCH member from the AFP, refused to give any comments on the matter as he was awaiting an official statement from the chairman. As of this posting, the GRP-CCCH chairman was not yet available for comments. - Ric Clet/LBG, GMANews.TV