COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has admitted the involvement of its forces in clashes in Basilan province Tuesday that claimed the lives of at least two soldiers.
The military said 10 MILF rebels were also killed in the clashes, the first of which broke out past 7 a.m.
Eid Kabalu, MILF civil-military chief, blamed the military for the fighting in Tipo-tipo Central, where dozens of combatants from both sides were also injured, and said they have filed a complaint before a committee monitoring a ceasefire forged in 2001.
But Major General Nelson Allaga, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said the military was suing the MILF too, adding that the clashes proved the secessionist rebels were colluding with Abu Sayyaf extremists.
Kabalu claimed that, like the July 10 incident in Albarka town, where 14 Marines were killed, Tuesday’s violence started when soldiers entered MILF territory without coordinating with the rebels, in violation of the terms of a ceasefire forged in 2001.
“Our troops there were surprised, so they defended their position. There were no Abu Sayyaf members in the area as what the military claims. We already filed a protest before the ceasefire committee,” Kabalu told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.
“We are filing protest actions against the MILF in Basilan on the grounds that Moro rebels reinforced the Abu Sayyaf Group that clashed with our troops,” Allaga countered.
“It appears that they (MILF) are colluding with the Abu Sayyaf Group,” he added.
He said the site of the clashes were nowhere near MILF territory, contrary to Kabalu’s claim.
“It’s really far from their area. Our troops were targeting members of the Abu Sayyaf Group [ASG], but it turned out that some loose members of the MILF provided reinforcements to the ASG,” Allaga said.
He also said the 10 gunmen killed in the clashes were positively identified as MILF members.
Von Al Haq, chairman of the MILF ceasefire team, denied any of their fighters were killed. But he acknowledged that six rebels under the command of Commander Hamsa Sapanton were injured in the encounters.
“All the six wounded in action last Tuesday are legitimate members of the MILF, so we have hard evidence against the military for violation of the ceasefire agreement,” he said.
Tuesday’s fighting came even as optimism had begun to run high about the possibility of the government and MILF finally signing a final peace agreement.
The peace talks are expected to resume next month, after the fasting month of Ramadan ends.
Negotiators are expected to discuss the remaining hindrances to a final peace settlement, including the issue of territory.
The MILF has been demanding the inclusion of at least 1000 villages in the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity but the government said the final composition of the territory would have to depend on the outcome of a plebiscite held for the purpose.
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dateline Southern Philippines 