Insisting that it was the aggrieved party, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is seeking an impartial investigation from the International Monitoring Team into the bloody Oct. 18 clash in Basilan province that left 19 soldiers dead and undermined the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the rebels. The MILF also called for a halt to ongoing pursuit operations by police and military forces to let the "ceasefire mechanism" work. "An impartial investigation of this incident to be led by the International Monitoring Team (IMT) must be conducted as soon as possible in order to find out the truth and be able to address properly the various issues and concerns without jeopardizing but rather protecting and promoting the primacy of the peace process between the government and MILF," the rebel group said on its website. The MILF also called on the IMT to lead the enforcement of the ceasefire, reparation of damages and provision of socio-economic and humanitarian assistance in the affected communities. The Oct. 19 clash in Al-Barka town triggered expressions of outrage from many sectors and prompted calls for an all-out war against the MILF — a call that Malacañang rejected. Citing the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces’ (BIAF) General Staff report, the MILF insisted the Philippine Army's Special Forces had planned to attack the BIAF's 114th Base Command in Al-Barka. It said the attack was a "test mission" for the fresh graduates of schooling from the Army’s Special Forces, targeting BIAF Commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi. Asnawi, a fugitive who is linked to the beheading of Marine soldiers in 2007 also in Al-Barka town, is the deputy base commander of the 114th Base Command. The Oct. 18 firefight lasted about eight hours. The MILF claimed to have killed "more than 20 soldiers" and suffered five fatalities and three wounded on the BIAF side. But it also said one civilian, Jilun Kaharut Abdasal, was killed by what the MILF claimed was the indiscriminate mortar shelling of the Special Forces. "This attack of the Special Forces against the 114th Base Command – BIAF and the indiscriminate artillery and air strikes affecting civilian communities deliberately and seriously violated the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities (AGCH), Agreement on the Protection of Civilians, and the International Humanitarian Laws (IHL). This report aims present the side and exposition of the MILF on this fateful incident," the MILF said. Military probe The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last week finished its own investigation on the clash, but its officials refused to make public the report. "The result of the board of inquiry is for our internal consumption but our troops, and I’m sure the general public, will notice the actions that will be taken by the Armed Forces of the Philippines," said AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos in justifying their decision to keep the report classified. Following the encounter, the Army leadership relieved from their posts 4th Special Forces Battalion chief Lt. Col. Leo Peña and Special Operations Task Force Basilan commander Col. Alexander Macario. In an interview last week, AFP Vice Chief of Staff for Operations Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta admitted that there were "administrative lapses" during the operation. "It's a legitimate operation but there are some administrative lapses that we are currently investigating," Mabanta said. The government, meanwhile, has maintained that despite the Basilan clash, preparations for the resumption of peace negotiations in November will continue. MILF account The MILF's chronology of events on the incident indicated that:
The MILF’s 114th Base Command detected the movement of the Army’s Special Forces in the afternoon of October 17. The MILF’s information indicates the Special Forces were on a test mission to get Asnawi. At early morning of October 18, two teams of Special Forces started “uncoordinated movements" toward Barangay Cambug in Al Barka, Basilan. The first team of Special Forces, which is more or less a platoon-size, disembarked from the Philippine Navy ship. They reached the shore of Barangay Bato-Bato, Al Barka coming from the Navy ship. From Bato-Bato, they moved into Sitio Bakisung, Cambug on foot. Cambug is the native place of Commander Dan and the Asnawi families. The second team, also platoon-sized, commenced “uncoordinated movement" on foot en route to Bakisung at early morning. They passed through Barangay Kabangalan in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, to Barangay Guinanta, Al Barka, which is being identified as the Area of Temporary Stay (ATS) of the MILF, to Limbu Upas, Makalang, Danapa and Kailih before reaching Bakisung in Cambug. At about 5:15 a.m. of Oct. 18, the first team of the Special Forces set foot at Sitio Bakisung, Cambug, Al Barka while the second team was already at Barangay Kailih at the time. The BIAF-MILF forces were already on heightened alert to “defend their positions, community and lives." A fierce firefight ensued while Asnawi’s forces manned the perimeter defense to block reinforcement for the Special Forces. At 7 a.m., the MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities informed its government counterpart and the IMT of the attack and the “indiscriminate mortar shelling." Reinforcements for both the Special Forces and the 114th BIAF forces came. Accordingly, the total number of the troops of the Special Forces reached up to more than 100 men while the BIAF forces were around 70 fighters. The firefight lasted for eight hours, ending at 2 p.m. but the government forces fired 105mm cannons “indiscriminately" until early morning of October 19. The artillery strikes pounded barangays Guinanta, Magcawa, Makalang, Danapa, Linuan and Cambug, all of Al Barka. Innocent civilians were severely affected, the MILF claimed. Military air assets bombarded the areas of encounter by unleashing air-to-ground rockets from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18. About 20 soldiers were killed and as many wounded, while five BIAF forces were killed and at least three wounded. A civilian, Jilun Kaharut Abdasal, was killed in the mortar shelling while civilians Nurfa Sappalun, Ibrahim Sappalun, and Abdulkarim Abubakar were wounded. The artillery and air strikes also destroyed 20 houses, two madrasah schools, and two buildings constructed by the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) for community development funded by the World Bank (WB). Some 1,000 families were displaced by this attack of the Special Forces. The MILF insisted the military’s movements were not coordinated with the CCCH or any of the established ceasefire mechanisms of peace process between the government and MILF. It added Barangays Guinanta, Kailih and Cambug are publicly known as strongholds of the MILF forces and members, and thus coordination must be observed by the government with the MILF on the conduct of activities and operations involving the police and military pursuant to the ceasefire accord between the government and MILF. “Otherwise, non-coordination of activities or operation can trigger firefight between the government and MILF forces as what had happened in this case," it said. Also, the MILF said Guinanta was identified and recognized as MILF Area of Temporary Stay (ATS) from May to July 2008. it said this was agreed upon by the CCCH and AHJAG to give way to the operation of the AFP against the Abu Sayyaf group in the municipalities of Tipo-Tipo, Al-Barka and Ungkaya Pukan. “It was agreed that in order to isolate and interdict the ASG being the target of police - military operation for the three-month period as earlier mentioned, all the forces and members of the MILF and their families must stay temporarily at Guinanta. After the completion and termination of the operation, all these members and forces of MILF and their families who are not residents of Guinanta went back to their respective communities of origin, particularly in the adjacent barangays of Guinanta," the group said. “This is the explanation why Barangay Guinanta, after the termination of the operation, should not be identified as the only community that is being resided with MILF forces and members, and that observance of proper coordination with respect to the ceasefire accord through the GPH – MILF CCCH only applies with Guinanta," it added. The MILF also said the target of the attack was not the Abu Sayyaf but Asnawi and the BIAF–MILF and his men. “From our perspective, the objective of this attack, which was a test mission for the fresh graduates of schooling from the Special Forces, is two-fold i.e. to pin down or capture Commander Dan Asnawi and for a significant tactical-strategic positioning that is to be able to establish a position or structure to be held by the Special Forces or government forces at the high ground of Kailih and Cambug," it said. It also noted that Asnawi is among the several BIAF officers and members facing multiple charges in relation with the clashes between the BIAF and AFP forces at Barangay Guinanta on July 10, 2007 that resulted to the beheading of 14 Philippine Marine troops. Ceasefire violation The MILF said the “uncoordinated movements" of the Special Forces in Guinanta, Magcawa, Makalang, Danapa, Linuan, Cambug and Bato-Bato in Al-Barka violated the ceasefire guidelines. It added the uncoordinated movements endangered the safety and security of the people and their properties due to the possibility of triggering armed clashes between the two forces. “As such, it considered a provocative hostile act as stipulated paragraph 4.e of the Implementing Operational Guidelines of the GRP – MILF Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities (AGCH)," it said. The MILF added the Special Forces perpetrated aggressive acts such as attack and shelling against the forces of the 114th Base Command, particularly the group of Asnawi, which are prohibited hostile acts under paragraph 3b of Article I of the Implementing Operational Guidelines of the ceasefire pact. - KBK, GMA News 
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