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Recent Appearances...

Southeast Asia

1 soldier killed, another wounded in violence in southern Philippines

2023-03-23

And so Ramadan begins.

[BenarNews] Violence marred the eve of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan in the southern Philippines after suspects from a pro-Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group killed a soldier and maimed another on Wednesday.

Troops were securing a highway in the town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao province when krazed killer suspects belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
(BIFF) shot up a checkpoint, local army chief Brig. Gen. Oriel Pangcog said.

The attack instantly killed Pfc. Jorey Abibas while Pfc. Jonathan Nacion was maimed, he said, adding a stray bullet struck a civilian. Nacion’s and the civilian’s injuries were not life threatening.

Pangcog said the murderous Moslems were possibly responding to the military’s killing of a BIFF commander last month.

"This is in retaliation for that," Pangcog said.

"We have alerted our detachment and they were looking for the vehicle used by the krazed killers."

Army troops launched artillery attacks against BIFF positions in the marshes bordering the towns of Pagalungan, Datu Montawal and Pikit following the ambush, said Von Al Haq, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region’s interior minister.

BIFF is a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which was the country’s largest separatist force before it signed a peace pact with the government in 2014.

BIFF, which has openly supported the Islamic State group, has been blamed for several attacks, including bombings in public areas.

The latest ambush came a day before the country’s Moslem minority was to begin the Islamic holy month of fasting.

A large Moslem minority — more than 6 million of 110 million — lives in the southern part of the Philippines, Asia’s only predominantly Catholic nation.

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Southeast Asia

Southern Philippine Ambush Kills MILF Commander, 8 Others

2022-02-13

[BenarNews] Armed men ambushed a two-vehicle convoy carrying a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander traveling through a southern Philippine village on Saturday, killing nine and injuring three others, authorities said.

How odd. MILF signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 2014, thereafter turning their attention to running the transitional government in the now-autonomous Mindanao region. Recalcitrant spin-offs attached to ISIS continue old habits, though.

The men attacked the convoy of Peges Mamasainged, also known as Commander Black Magic, around 8:30 a.m. in Tambunan village in Maguindanao province, according to provincial police commander Col. Jibin Bongcayao.

"The motive of the incident is the long-standing family feud of the involved parties," the police official said.

Feud, not jihad? OK — moved to Page 3.

Mamasainged, a member of the MILF’s inner guard base command, was traveling to a nearby village when he was killed along with five relatives and three unidentified individuals. Authorities did not release details on those who were maimed.

Bongcayao identified MILF members Jordan Mama Lintang and his son, Morsid, as the alleged leaders of the attack. He did not say if any of the attackers were maimed or if members of the convoy fired back.

MILF front man Von Al Haq, meanwhile, said the father and son were not members of the organization. The MILF signed a peace agreement with the government in 2014, ending its long-running separatist insurgency in the region.

In predominantly Moslem areas of Mindanao island, it is not unusual for families to settle differences through clan wars known as "rido." Hostilities could last for decades until a peace pact is signed, usually through mediation by religious leaders along with a cash payment.

Political rivalries, ancestral land claims, disputes over local fiefdoms as well as election-related feuds often spur clan wars in Mindanao, the country’s mineral-rich southern third.

"Police and military personnel have been deployed in the area to prevent escalation of the incident," Bongcayao said.

Al Haq, the MILF front man, told BenarNews the organization’s ceasefire team was on the ground as well to help prevent the situation from getting worse.

"It’s confirmed that those people ambushed were our men. The suspects are not connected with us," he said. "We are checking if it’s election related."

On May 9, Filipinos will vote to elect a new president and vice president, fill 12 of the 24 Senate and all 316 House seats along with about 18,000 official positions ranging from governors to mayors and town councilors.

Philippine elections, especially in the countryside, are traditionally marred by violence. In 2019, 23 people were killed and 50 injured during mid-term polls and as many as 50 people died in poll-related violence during the 2016 presidential election, according to statistics from the national police.

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Southeast Asia

Hoping for peace, bracing for war in Mindanao

2018-07-31

[IRIN] Mindanao is on the verge of a hard-won peace deal granting greater autonomy to minority Muslims. But on the edges of sprawling Liguasan Marsh, civilians like Tamano Bandila are bracing for more violence. He fled his home last year, after hearing rumours that militants linked to the Islamic State were near. He said, "I’m worried that ISIS will come back and recruit the youth and there will be more conflict,” he said, adding that civilians would be the collateral damage.

Bandila’s home is in the middle of the central Mindanao marshlands that is also a stronghold of the island’s largest Muslim armed group – the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. For more than 40 years, grievances among the island’s Moro Muslims have fuelled a separatist movement that has battled the Philippine army.

The backdrop is last year’s five-month siege of Marawi, where fighting levelled the city and uprooted 360,000 people. The destruction both deepened long-held frustrations and raised fears that further missteps in the peace process will fuel extremism.

The government declared an end to the Marawi siege in October, but clashes with Islamist militants continue in places like the Liguasan Marsh. Here, the MILF has done what was once unimaginable: formed an uneasy alliance with the Philippine army

Today, the MILF and the military coordinate operations in the vast marshlands: the army providing airstrikes while MILF fighters lead the charge on the ground. MILF spokesman Von Al-Haq said, “We are the one who assaults the enemy directly."

President Rodrigo Duterte is on the cusp of signing – as early as this week – the Bangsamoro Organic Law, implementing the peace accord and granting greater autonomy and fiscal powers to a Moro Muslim homeland on Mindanao. Sky-high expectations surround the peace agreement, but local community groups worry that in practice, the resulting law will be stripped back from what was originally negotiated in 2014.

The Philippine Congress has wrangled over matters of tax revenue, control over resources and waterways, and even the basic question of how outlying municipalities will accede to a new autonomous territory. While the MILF says the current agreement is an imperfect but acceptable new beginning, Islamist militants are likely to use any failings in the resulting deal as fodder in the future.

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Southeast Asia

MILF says Malaysian terrorist hiding in Moro territory

2013-08-10

A Malaysian wanted by the U.S. for terrorist activities in southeast Asia is hiding in territory held by Moro militants in this province, according to a senior Bangsamoro leader Another source said a member of the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah is also hiding in the province of Sultan Kudarat.

Von Al Haq, spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said that Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, is being safeguarded by a breakaway group led by Ameril Umra Kato. Kato, formerly a MILF commander, broke away from the MILF in 2008 over disagreements with fellow militant leaders over negotiations with the government.

He has since founded the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) whose armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), has been involved in recent attacks on government security forces in Maguindanao, including a roadside bomb attack that injured seven soldiers on Wednesday.

Al Haq said Marwan may have played a role in the Aug. 5 bombing in Cotabato City that killed eight people and injured nearly 30 others. He said, "That's what we got on the ground. He's hiding among BIFF members. We also got feedback from residents (of areas) near BIFF camps."

A military source said an Indonesian national was among those killed in a recent military operation against the BIFF in Datu Piang. In a separate statement, Col. Dickson Hermoso said there was an intelligence report that a Jemaah Islamiyah member had been spotted among Moro militants in Datu Piang. But BIFF spokesman Abu Misry Mama denied his group had ties with Marwan or any Jemaah Islamiyah member.

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Southeast Asia

MILF deploys 'friendly forces' in Maguindanao

2012-09-09

Muslim rebels currently in peace talks with the government are trying to avoid battles with their former allies behind several attacks in the past few weeks in Mindanao. They have deployed "friendly forces" in areas targeted by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM), according to Ghadzali Jaafar, vice chairman for political affairs of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). BIFM is a breakaway group from the MILF.

Jaafar said that members of the MILF's National Guard unit, aka Task Force Etihad, are now in the province of Maguindanao to help ease tensions which could lead to further fighting with the BIFM and widespread violence in Mindanao.

Jaafar said, We began deploying after they promised us that they will not make any moves that will destroy the unity of the people."

A month ago, BIFM fighters, led by Ameril Umbra Kato, attacked military detachments and villages in Maguindanao, leaving scores of troops dead and causing more than 7,000 families to flee the region.

Kato, who used to be in charge of the MILF 105th Base Command, is thought to have been behind the attacks on civilians in North Cotabato in 2008. The rogue commander heads the 1,000-strong armed wing of the BIFM, which broke away from the MILF two years ago.

MILF spokesman Von Al Haq claimed that Kato is still hiding somewhere in Datu Piang town in Maguidnanao but is apparently weak and can hardly speak because he is not getting enough supplies for his medical condition. He said, His condition is deteriorating faster and only his wife and son are attending to him."

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Southeast Asia

Spokesman: Philippine rogue rebel just ill, not dead

2011-11-27

Rogue Muslim rebel leader Ameril Umbrakato, whose forces have threatened the peace efforts of the Philippine government, has fallen ill, said a spokesman for his group on Saturday. However he is not dead despite a number of reports about his demise, said Abu Misri Mama, spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ~~splinter~~ faction.

Mama said, "Four days ago, (Umbrakato) was walking around the camp when his vision darkened and he collapsed. He regained consciousness three minutes later and told his followers they should go back because he did not feel well."

If we had a CIA worth anything at all, we'd be spreading a story about how the assassin had poisoned Ameril's mushrooms...

Mama said that ~~another terrorist~~ a vice-commander had taken Umbrakato to a doctor and he had not been seen since. The ~~other terrorist~~ vice-commander said he was merely suffering from asthma. But others in the rebel group said that Umbrakato could barely speak and was communicating by writing.

Mama said that if the he died, they would announce it publicly.

The local army commander, Major General Rey Ardo, said he had also heard reports of Umbrakato's death or that he had suffered a stroke, but had not verified them. He repeated an earlier offer to have Umbrakato treated at a military hospital.

Von Al-Haq, a spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said he had also heard similar reports but could not confirm them.

Umbrakato and his group broke from the MILF after the latter opened peace talks with the government. Umbrakato, thought to have as many as a 1,000 followers, rejected the talks and accused his former comrades of abandoning the fight.

He was one of two hard-line MILF leaders who led large-scale attacks across Mindanao in August 2008 after the Supreme Court outlawed a draft peace deal that would have given the MILF control over vast areas of the south. About 400 people died and 750,000 were displaced in that attack.

In recent months, members of Umbrakato's "freedom fighters" have clashed with MILF members in disputes over territory.

Link

Southeast Asia

MILF spokesman: Philippine military begin full offensive

2011-10-22

The Philippine military has begun a full offensive against Muslim rebels early Saturday, forcing thousands of people to flee.

Von Al Haq, spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said their forces under the 113th Base Command BIAF-MILF were having early morning prayers at their camp when mortar shells rained on their position. A heavy exchange of gun fire between the two forces was reported following the government's artillery strikes.

Al Haq warned that the green light given by President Benigno Aquino to his military commanders to carry out a full offensive against them might lead to all-out war.

On Friday afternoon, he said fighter planes dropped bombs on their position on the outskirts of Labatan around 3 p.m.. The air offensive lasted for an hour, forcing thousands to abandon their homes. Al Haq said, "The military's artillery attacks are going on. This is not good ingredients for the peace talks. We are worried that it may end up in full blown war."

Citing standing orders to their men on the ground to remain in a defensive posture, the rebel official said they could not stop their fighters on Mindanao from staging sympathy attacks against government troops. He said, "We have no redeployment of troops to Zamboanga Sibugay but if the situation there gets worse, it's another story."

President Aquino, while ruling out pursuit operations in the province of Basilan where 19 soldiers have been killed by MILF rebels, gave the nod to offensive operations in Zamboanga Sibugay. Aquino said the military is pursuing lawless elements and that the provincial government has passed a resolution asking the military to pursue "wanted criminals."

Over 3,000 families from the towns of Payao and Alicia have been evacuated to safer ground after the government began air strikes on Friday afternoon.

On Thursday night, seven government troops, were killed and eight others injured in simultaneous attacks staged by the rebels. The rebels acknowleged the attacks but justified it as retaliation.

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Southeast Asia

Filipino soldiers clash with rebels; 15 killed

2011-10-19

MANILA: Philippine troops battled Muslim ~~terrorists~~ guerrillas in fierce fighting in a volatile southern province Tuesday that killed at least 15 combatants and left 10 soldiers missing, officials and rebels said.

Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said the fighting erupted at dawn Tuesday near Al-Barka town on Basilan island when troops were investigating reports of ~~terrorist~~ rebel incursions, and that sporadic clashes continued late into the night in the remote region. At least 12 soldiers were killed and 11 wounded, and 10 others were missing, he said.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front spokesman Von Al Haq said at least three ~~terrorists~~ rebels were killed in the clash. He said government troops provoked the fighting by attacking the ~~terrorists~~ rebels in their Al-Barka stronghold in violation of an existing cease-fire.

Army troops shelled the ~~terrorist~~ rebel stronghold after the initial clash, trapping villagers in the fighting, he said.

Cabangbang said troops were deployed to check reports by villagers that a group of ~~terrorists~~ gunmen known to be holding kidnap victims had strayed areas close to their communities. He said the troops did not intrude into the ~~terrorist~~ rebel stronghold and were fired upon by the Moro ~~terrorists~~ rebels, prompting them to fight back, he said.

The gunmen were led by a ~~terrorist~~ commander identified as Dan Laksaw Asnawi, who escaped from a Basilan jail in 2009 with 30 other ~~terrorists~~ inmates. Asnawi was detained for his alleged involvement in the beheading of 14 marines during a 2007 clash in Al-Barka, Cabangbang said.

When were running after a ~~terrorist~~ criminal and get near their area, they cannot just kill our soldiers, Cabangbang told The Associated Press by telephone.

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Southeast Asia

Filipino terror suspect likely with splinter group

2011-09-09

[Straits Times] Filipino officials and the country's largest Mohammedan rebel group say a key terrorist suspect may have joined a renegade guerrilla commander who has vowed to carry on the battle for a separate Mohammedan homeland.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front front man Von Al Haq said on Thursday that his group received information that Abdul Basit Usman has been seen with the forces of Ameril Umbra Kato in the southern Philippines.

Usman is wanted in the Philippines for his alleged role in deadly bombings. The US added Usman to its list of most-wanted faceless myrmidons in 2008 and offered a US$1 million (S$1.2 million) reward for his killing or capture.

Kato recently split from the main Moro Islamic Liberation Front over its peace talks with Manila. The group no longer seeks a separate Mohammedan state.

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Southeast Asia

MILF splitter threatens jihad

2011-08-21

A radical guerrilla commander said he had split from the largest Muslim militant group and formed his own with hundreds of fighters to wage a war for a separate homeland.

In a cellphone interview from his jungle hide-out in Maguindanao, Ameril Umbra Kato said that he would not return to the mainstream Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has opened negotiations with the government and threatened to expel him after he led a mutiny in December. Kato also denied accusations that he has links with al-Qaida.

He said his new group would be called the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Front. Its guerrilla wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, was organized in January, a month after he broke off from the MILF.

Kato, estimated to have 200 to 300 fighters by his former comrades, did not give many details about his combat force or say what he would do next. Kato, who is in his late 60s, said he left because his former group chose to "waste time" negotiating with the government instead of waging a battle for an independent Muslim homeland.

"We've been going around and around wasting money and look where the peace talks have brought us. The roots of the conflict have not been solved," Kato said.

MILF spokesman Von Al Haq expressed relief that Kato finally had declared he wanted to lead his own organization but warned "he will be accountable for his actions, which will no longer have any bearing on the MILF."

Al Haq said, "It's a process of elimination. At the end of the day, all those who couldn't hold firm on our basic principles fall on the wayside."

The main guerrilla force now led by Murad Ebrahim split in 1978 from the Moro National Liberation Front, which dropped its bid for secession and signed a peace accord with Manila in 1996. Murad's group dropped its bid for independence last year but demanded a more powerful type of autonomy with greater control over more territory.

Murad's group said Kato resigned in December, citing his age and poor health. But Kato then formed a breakaway group and accused Murad's group of betraying the Muslim cause by seeking autonomy instead of independence.

Kato said, "They did that without consulting the Muslims. They cheated."

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Southeast Asia

Filipino Muslim rebels to disown radical commander

2011-08-18

[Straits Times] The Philippines' largest Mohammedan rebel group has given a radical commander a final warning to stop a mutiny or face expulsion, which will open his breakaway force to possible military assaults.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front Vice-Chairman Ghazali Jaafar said on Wednesday his group's central committee will soon issue a resolution declaring Ameril Umbra Kato no longer a member.

Jaafar says an expulsion will mean Kato is no longer covered by accords the rebel group has forged with the government, including a truce that shields rebels from military assaults.

Kato has up to 300 armed fighters. Rebel front man Von Al Haq says Kato angered rebel leaders when he took steps that stoked a deadly land feud between two commanders in the restive southern Philippines.

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Southeast Asia

Five dead, nine hurt in fighting between two rebel groups in S. Philippines

2011-08-10

(Xinhua) -- At least five Mohammedan rebels were killed, nine others maimed and hundreds of families beat feet as fierce fighting between troops led by two rebel commanders erupted Tuesday in the restive southern Philippines, a military official said.

Lt. Col. Prudencio Asto, front man for the military's 6th Division, told Xinhua by phone the festivities involving Commander Abunawas of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and Commander Adzmi, of Moro Islamic Liberation Front's 106th Command erupted in remote village in the township of Datu Piang in Maguindanao province.

Asto said the fighting has something to do with long standing land conflict, a claim confirmed by the MILF's Central Committee.

"We deployed troops to the scene not to fan the ongoing fire but to pacify. We are containing the fighting within the area so it will not spread," the military official said.

Asto said as of 3:00 p.m., government agencies along with military personnel distributed relief goods to people displaced by the fighting.

Von Al Haq, front man for the 11,000 strong MILF, said the incident involved land conflict over a six-hectare agricultural land.

In Southern Philippines, clan war or "rido" is common among warring clans and sometimes the hostilities could last for decades until a peace pact is reached by protagonists, usually through mediation by religious leaders and the payment of blood money.

Among major causes rido include land disputes, particularly those caused by disputed government surveys or ancestral land claims; political rivalries, mostly election-related; crime- related, including murder and proliferation of illegal drugs, competition over resources and businesses.

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