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AFP starts probe on Basilan clash


The Armed Forces of the Philippines has started its probe on the clash between government forces and an armed group supposedly reinforced by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Basilan which left 19 soldiers dead. On Thursday, Major General Ireneo Espino, head of the board of inquiry which will look into the incident, said the panel will try to find out if military forces deployed in the area committed errors that led to the firefight. "Aalamin natin kung ano ang nangyari at kung saan tayo nagkulang. Aalamin natin ang lapses na na-commit ng mga commanders na nandoon," Espino said in an interview aired over GMA News TV’s “Balitanghali." He added the board will report their initial findings to President Benigno Aquino III, who ordered the probe and called for a command conference on Friday afternoon. "Kung mayroon talagang nakitang mali, iaayos iyon in terms of the support na kailangan," Espino said. Nineteen Army soldiers, including four officers, were killed after a six-hour firefight with armed men led by fugitive Dan Laksaw Asnawi in Albarka town. The military said the armed men were reinforced by members of the MILF, despite a ceasefire between the government and the secessionist group in connection with the ongoing peace negotiations. But the MILF claimed that it was the military that violated the truce by launching an attack with their area of temporary stay (ATS). The ATS is a place designated by the government and the MILF Coordinating Committees on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) where forces of the secessionist group can stay to prevent encounters with troops pursuing members of the bandit Abu Sayyaf group. Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz, for his part, insisted that the MILF violated the ceasefire by participating in the clash between the soldiers and the armed group. "‘Yung MILF who are not the real targets here but the lawless elements, unprovoked, they engaged our troops," Ortiz said in a separate television interview. Earlier in the day, presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles said that despite the clash, preparations for the resumption of peace negotiations in November will continue. On Tuesday, government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen downplayed the implications of the firefight in Basilan, describing it as an "isolated case… not intended by both the government and the MILF." — with Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News

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