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Southeast Asia

Philippines: Army vows to wipe out militants after fatal clashes

2007-08-13

(AKI) - After suffering some of its heaviest casualties in decades, the Philippines' armed forces have vowed to wipe out militants in the south of the country. Over 50 people have been killed in the Philippines in fighting between troops and Islamic militants on the southern island of Jolo. The military was deploying two extra battalions with 1000 troops to back up the 4,000 troops already there. Of those killed at least 26 were soldiers , Major Eugene Batara, spokesman for the military's Western Mindanao Command said. The army has blamed the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf terrorist group which has its stronghold in the Philippines. However Hatimil Hassan, a representative of the separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), said his group was also involved in the clashes. The MNLF, one of the oldest Islamic rebel groups in the Philippines signed a peace deal with the government in 1996, in which it agreed to lay down its arms in exchange for limited autonomy. However the deal has never been applied fully and this has led to frustration among some MNLF leaders. According to sources, various factions within the MNLF consider the peace deal "invalid" and believe that a return to the use of arms is "legitimate". Clashes between the groups linked to the MNLF and the military have become more frequent in the past few months. This latest attack follows an operation launched by the military against suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf in the nearby island of Basilan where 10 soldiers were decapitated on 10 July. The soldiers were part of a group of 14 killed in a clash with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest Islamic rebel group in the Philippines with 12,000 militants. Manila and the MILF have been involved in peace talks since 2001. The MILF has re-positioned its forces in Basilan to allow for the Filipino troops to advance. The MILF and the Abu Sayyaf derived from the radical wings of the MNLF. In the southern Philippines, where clans and tribal links are particularly strong, the divisions between the various groups are often difficult to define.

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Southeast Asia

Philippines military kills 58 militants

2007-08-11

The Philippine military will step up offensives against Muslim rebels after it lost 26 soldiers in the heaviest fighting in the volatile south in nearly three years, the head of the armed forces said on Friday. General Hermogenes Esperon said two extra battalions would be sent to the remote southern island of Jolo, where clashes between troops and Muslim separatists killed at least 58 people on Thursday. "I'm very sad but it doesn't mean we will give up," Esperon told reporters. "We will not stop, we will go after them. We expect fiercer battles." The army shelled Muslim rebel positions and raked them with helicopter fire overnight but suspended operations on Friday following a request from the provincial governor. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a Muslim rebel group that signed a peace deal with the largely Catholic central government in 1996, said its members were involved and that it had asked the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to help stop the fighting. "We informed the OIC of the current situation through e-mails and a fax direct to Jeddah," said Hatimil Hassan, the MNLF deputy head and an elected member of the regional legislative assembly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Fighting has been confined to a small part of the island of Jolo but there were dangers that it could spill over to nearby areas and other rebel groups could take advantage of the situation, Hassan told reporters. The military said the rebels were from Abu Sayyaf but the less radical MNLF said its cadres were involved. Unlike Abu Sayyaf, the more secular MNLF has no known links to regional Islamic militant network Jemaah Islamiah.

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Southeast Asia

2 Abu Sayyaf camps now under Filippino control

2005-11-16

Government troops have captured two camps belonging to the Abu Sayyaf bandit group, but bad weather has slowed down the offensive against the fleeing gunmen that has cost the lives of at least four soldiers, the military said yesterday. Troops pursuing the Abu Sayyaf and followers of jailed Moro leader Nur Misuari reported they recovered ammunition for rockets, mortars and grenade launchers from two camps in Indanan town on Jolo island late Monday. One of the camps belonged to Misuari loyalists in Marang village and the other was a “forward base” of the Abu Sayyaf in Bud Kapuk, both in Indanan town. The military yesterday released a revised casualty figure, reporting that four Marines had been killed and 12 other Marines and 10 Army soldiers had been wounded since a gun battle erupted late Friday followed by sporadic clashes in Marang village between government troops and a combined force of the Abu Sayyaf and the so-called Misuari Breakaway Group (MBG). It had initially reported that seven soldiers were slain. There were no encounters reported yesterday. At least 17 Moro gunmen, including Abu Sayyaf leader commander Mammah, were killed, the military said basing its figures on radio intercepts and ground reports. But Southern Command spokesperson Colonel Domingo Tutaan said no bodies were found at the Abu Sayyaf camp, only bloodstained backpacks and personal belongings. He said soldiers later destroyed several bunkers and trenches in the encampment. Brigadier General Alexander Aleo, commander of the anti-terror Task Force Comet in Jolo, said heavy rains were affecting the offensive. Aleo said the Abu Sayyaf gunmen were allegedly aided by followers of Misuari, who signed a peace accord with the government in 1996. Armed Forces spokesperson Colonel Tristan Kison told reporters in Manila that the dense jungle of Jolo, where visibility is often limited to 10 meters, was also hampering the operation. Lieutenant Colonel Pablo Lorenzo said the heavily fortified base in Bud Kapuk belonged to the group led by Umbra Jumdail, alias Doc Abu. Lorenzo said the encampment had 15 bunkers, which could accommodate from 80 to 100 persons. Col. Juancho Sabban, 3rd Marine Brigade commander, said the MBG camp belonged to the group of Khaid Adjibun, Misuari’s chief of staff in Sulu province, and could hold up to 500 people. In Cotabato City, MNLF chair Hatimil Hassan urged the military to halt the offensive, saying the fighting has already displaced at least 200 civilians. A man and his wife were wounded by shrapnel, the only civilian casualties reported so far. Hassan said he had sent emissaries to Sulu to convince Ustadz Habier Malik’s group to stop the fighting. Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer, public affairs officer of the Joint Special Operation Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP), said US soldiers conducting humanitarian work in the province would not be pulling out even as tensions mounted in Sulu. Aleo said no US personnel were involved in the Indanan operation. At least 30 US servicemen have been in Sulu since last month.

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Southeast Asia

Filipino Muslim Leader Warns of Violence in ARMM Polls

2005-06-04

Al Jacinto, Arab News Former rebel leader-turned-politician Muslimen Sema yesterday warned that the August elections in the five-province Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao could be bloody again because of the proliferation of illegal weapons in the hands of political warlords and supporters. "Unless the authorities seize all these weapons, I see the elections to be very bloody," said Sema, a senior leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and now mayor of Cotabato City. Sema said thousands of illegal weapons are believed in the hands of mostly politicians in the autonomous region that comprises the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan plus the cities of Cotabato and Marawi. Aside from political warlords, many illegal weapons also found their way into the hands of rebel groups, gun syndicates and lawless elements, Sema said. "This scenario is very scary; there are tens of thousands of illegal weapons out there and the government must act swiftly to prevent hostilities before and during elections in the Muslim autonomous region," he said. Sema suggested the postponement of the polls until the authorities could guarantee a peaceful and honest elections. Aside from Sema, the MNLF under Hatimil Hassan, also called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to scrap the elections because of security concerns. Let a Mooselimb get close to an election and you can just about guarantee he wants to scrap it.

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