MILF expands territories

COTABATO CITY - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a peace deal with the government in March 2014, continues to expand its territories in the South, sparking occasional clashes with patrolling government forces in the restive region.

Even in Sulu, locals were surprised to learn that there are MILF members in the province. The province is a known stronghold of Moro National Liberation Front and has no known MILF presence or territories until now after the military said it collected dozens of weapons from the MILF members for “decommissioning.” 

Tausugs are now demanding the MILF to get out of Sulu and leave them in peace. Sulu has previously opposed its inclusion in the MILF-led Bangsamoro autonomous region under Murad Ebrahim, the chieftain of the MILF.

Many Tausugs are planning to hold a peace rally and denounce the MILF’s presence in Sulu, saying the province is now peaceful.

Just recently, MILF forces attacked a group of patrolling soldiers and ignited a gun battle in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Members of the 33rd Infantry Battalion were patrolling the village of Datu Kilay in Shariff Saydona Mustapha town when MILF gunmen led by Ustadz Guiahudin Monib attacked them. Monib, who belonged to the 105th Base Command, was killed in the clash, according to reports.

Ebrahim signed the peace accord with the Aquino government and eventually appointed as governor of the autonomous region. But despite the peace deal, former MILF rebels are still armed and the number of its members suddenly ballooned from about 12,000 - according to a previous military estimate - to tens of thousands and now seeking government aid as part of the provisions in the accord.

Dawlah Islamiya

Last month, government troops also clashed with MILF members who were also fighters of the Dawlah Islamiya, a pro-ISIS militant group, in Maguing town in the neighboring province of Lanao del Sur. Troops recovered a cache of weapons and at least five kilos of crystal meth from the hideout of the Dawlah Islamiya.

Army Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said soldiers captured the terrorist camp in the village of Ilalag following fierce clashes that killed at least three gunmen and one soldier. 

Just last week, MILF forces attacked a group of patrolling soldiers and ignited a gun battle in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. 

Members of the 33^rd Infantry Battalion were patrolling the village of Datu Kilay in Shariff Saydona Mustapha town when MILF gunmen led by Ustadz Guiahudin Monib attacked them. Monib, who belonged to the 105^th Base Command, was killed in the clash, according to reports. 

The MILF, under Murad Ebrahim, signed the peace accord with the Aquino government and eventually appointed as governor of the autonomous region. But despite the peace deal, former MILF rebels are still armed and the number of its members suddenly ballooned from about 12,000 - according to a previous military estimate - to tens of thousands and now seeking government aid as part of the provisions in the accord. 

Denial 

Ebrahim accused the military of attacking MILF members in Maguing town and denied they were Dawlah Islamiya fighters as what the Western Mindanao Command claimed. He said the Muslim regional government is making sure that the on-going ceasefire between the MILF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will produce positive outcomes and provide permanent resolution to the conflict.

But Lt. Col. Palawan Miondas, a spokesman for the 103rd Infantry Brigade, said those killed in the fighting were terrorists and members of the Dawlah Islamya and the Maute Group which were also involved in the deadly siege of Marawi in May 23, 2017 that lasted five months. He said the terrorist lairs were also near an illegal camp of the MILF. “We are sure that those terrorists are members of the Dawlah Islamiya,” Miondas said. 

The acronym of the group’ full Arabic name is al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, translated as “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or the Levant).” 

The Western Mindanao Command also maintained the gunmen were terrorists and that troops recovered a total of 22 improvised explosives, anti-personnel mines, and at least 45 assorted crew-served weapons and high-powered firearms, including three .50-caliber machine guns, one .30-caliber machine gun, two M60 machine guns, twelve M16 automatic rifles, one M653 rifle, one M4 Carbine rifle, one AR15 rifle, five M14 rifles, one M4 automatic rifle, six anti-tank grenade launchers, two M203 grenade launchers, six .50-caliber sniper rifles, one M1 Garand rifle, one Browning automatic rifle, one AK47 assault rifle and a shotgun, assorted ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, improvised rockets and ISIS flags, among others.

“Our troops averted and countered possible desperate attacks employed by the Dawlah Islamiya to inflict casualties not only to the armed forces but even the innocent civilians,” Rosario said. 

Lawless groups 

Early this year, the MILF also questioned law enforcement operations against lawless groups in North Cotabato’s Pikit town after police forces clashed with criminals that left five gunmen dead and four cops wounded.

Policemen, backed by army soldiers clashed with gunmen on December 29 after security forces tried to serve a warrant to arrest Joel Manampan alias Maula Manampan, who is allegedly wanted for various crimes and has a P175,000 bounty on his head.

Manampan managed to escape arrest and is being hunted by security forces. The suspect was involved in illegal possession of firearms and explosives, carnapping, gun-for-hire and proliferation of illegal drugs in Pikit and nearby towns, according to the police.

The MILF leaders insisted that government forces should have coordinated with them because the area is considered as their “territory.” 

Col. Henry Villar, the provincial police director, flatly rejected the MILF claims and said the area where Manampan operated is a haven of lawless elements involved in carnapping, gun-for-hire and illegal drug trade. 

Camp Rajamuda 

Villar said the only recognized MILF camp in North Cotabato is Camp Rajamuda located in the village of Rajamuda, also in Pikit town, as agreed upon by the government and stipulated in the 2014 peace deal. 

During the operation, security forces seized assorted weapons and over 400 motorcycles in a makeshift warehouse. The motorcycles were believed stolen after over a dozen owners came forward to claim their motorcycles. 

Brig. Gen. Alexander Tagum, the regional police chief, said they have intensified operations against lawless groups and criminals, especially those wanted by the law in an effort to protect innocent civilians from violence.  

Datu Turno Sultan, Sr., President of the Association of Barangay Captains in Pikit town, also told journalists during a news conference on January 5 that gunmen opened fire on security forces as soon as soldiers and policemen arrived in the village of Gokotan to arrest Manampan. The attack sparked a gun fight that lasted three hours. (Mindanao Examiner)