1 dead in MILF-BIFF clash

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) was killed and another hurt in a clash with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday, February 9, the military said. 

Army Captain Joan Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, said in a phone interview on Tuesday, February 10, that MILF fighters under the 108th Base Command clashed with the BIFF in the remote village of Kalbugan in Maguindanao past 5 pm on Monday.

“The BIFF suffered one fatality and another wounded during the fighting,” Petinglay said.

She said that the MILF troops were reportedly in pursuit of the BIFF fighters involved in the January 25 clash with elite cops in Mamasapano town, which left 44  Special Action Force troopers dead.

The clash lasted for half an hour, Petinglay added.

The sincerity of the MILF in the peace process has been under question following the Mamasapano clash, where MILF and BIFF forces clashed with the police officers.  

President Benigno Aquino III had earlier demanded from the MILF two concrete actions that would prove its sincerity in forging peace with the government, one of which it had yielded to – the return of weapons and personal effects of the SAF obtained in Mamasapano. 

The other is for the MILF to “step aside” if military and police operations in the hunt for alleged bomb expert Abdul Basit Usman – the other high-value target of the SAF operation in Mamasapano who evaded authorities – involve their areas. – Rappler.com