Civilians flee fighting between army, rebels in N. Cotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (4th UPDATE) — At least 2 rebels were killed, while 2 soldiers were left wounded after government forces launched ground offensives Saturday, August 10, against renegade Muslim rebels allegedly coddling a Malaysian terror bomb expert.

The firefight started when the rebels attacked a military camp in Brgy Tubak, Aleosan, North Cotabato.

North Cotabato Gov Emmylou Mendoza said the gun battle involved soldiers under 40th Infantry Battalion and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) rebels.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman for the military’s 6th Division, told a local radio station that those killed in the battle were identified as Tots Sanday and Kahib Dimasangkay. Soldiers under the 40th Infantry Battalion who were wounded were udentified as Sgt Greg Sarte and Sgt Alexis Armando.

Since Friday, August 9, residents from 3 villages in the towns of Aleosan and Pikit vacated their houses as BIFF rebels arrived in the area.

According to Lt Col Donald Gumiran, commanding officer of 40th IB, residents of Brg Pagangan in Aleosan and village folks from Nalapaan and Bualan in Pikit evacuated near the national hiighway.

“At the moment continuous exchange of fires could be heard in Lagundi, Pagangan, and Nalapaan”, Gumiran said.

Mendoza said around 2,000 people have been evacuated. “Authorities will secure from rebels’ harassment the main Cotabato-Davao highway,” the governor added.

“We can hear the fighting from here,” Tibungko Abdul, village chief of Nalapaan told Agence France-Presse.

“As of now we feel we are safe here, but if this worsens we may have to leave for the town centre as well,” he added, referring to Pikit, the town nearest to Nalapaan and to the villages where the evacuees had come from.

‘Kumander Bulldog’

Abu Misry Mama, spokesman of the BIFF, said the rebel ground unit fighting right now is led by a Kumander Bulldog.

“He’s called Bulldog because he’s like a crazy dog when fighting,” Mama said.

Mama said they started the fight after they received reports that the military is preparing to launch a siege against them Saturday night, August 10.

“We heard that they will attack us tonight that is why we launched an attack a step ahead of them,” Mama said.

He also warned the government not to underestimate the fighting capacity of the rebel group.

“The government should not underestimate us. They said that we are small but this perceived small group will be the dust that will sting their eyes,” Mama said.

Peace advocate Fr. Bert Layson who is monitoring closely with other monitors, said the military offensive has clearance from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) targeting only the intruding BIFF rebels.

“Military officials and local MILF commanders, in the spirit of the peace accord, are closely coordinating with each other avoiding mis-encounters. We pray this will not worsen,” Layson said.

The skirmishes in a remote village of Aleosan were sporadic, Von Al Haq, spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said by phone.

“We are in constant communication… blow by blow… with our counterparts in the government to prevent a miss encounter between our men and soldiers,” Al Haq said.

“The central committee have reiterated with our ground troops not to participate or to augment their former comrades now subject of military operation,” he added.

Marwan wanted

Earlier, Al Haq said a Malaysian wanted by the US government for terrorist activities in Southeast Asia, Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, is being coddled by the BIFF in Maguindanao.

Marwan has been monitored in the country since 2003. He has also been reported hiding with Abu Sayyaf bandits. 

He is believed to be behind the series of bomb attacks in the region, including the August 5 blast in Cotabato City that left 8 people dead and dozens wounded.

Last year, a military report said Marwan had moved to Central Mindanao, an area of operation for the MILF.

It was not clear if Marwan was in “Habitat,” a lair of BIFF situated in the village of Bualan.

Al Haq said they are currently checking existence of Khilafa Islamiya, a young jihadist group based in Lanao del Sur with links to the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

“Our men in Lanao have not heard of it. We also learned about that organization from our counterparts in the government’s ceasefire body.

Earlier, Prof. Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said his group received information that the Khilafa Islamiyah and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters recently held a joint training on bomb-making with the help of JI-linked individuals.

Khilafah in Islam means caliphate which refers to an Islamic state representing political unity for the entire Muslim community.

“So far we are not sure if this organization is real or not. It could be fictitious and created by people against in the peace process,” Al Haq said referring to Khilafah.

Denial

However, Mama said it the speculations that Marwan is the target of the military.

“He is not here. We do not even have camps for him to take shelter on,” Mama said.

The rebel spokesman added that they cannot confirm the existence of a new local Islamist group called Khilafa Islamiya.

“We are still confirming it. We still have no intelligence reports about this group,” Mama said.

Government chief negotiator Miriam Ferrer for her part said the operation against BIFF fighters will not hamper the ongoing peace talks with the MILF.

He said a mechanism was in place to prevent a miss encounter between soldiers pursuing BIFF and MILF rebels. – with reports from Agence France-Presse; Jeoffrey Maitem, Ferdinandh Cabrera & Karlos Manlupig/Rappler.com