Zamboanga rebels ‘ready to die’

Habier Malik, the commander of a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leading the attacks that shut down Zamboanga City, said he and his remaining troops are ready to die. In a phone interview with Rappler, Malik admitted that the government is closing in on his men and that their control of the city is shrinking. “I can see that. Even if we all die, the principles of the MNLF will not die with us,” Malik said. Malik and about 400 troops sailed to Zamboanga September 9 to protest what they  have described as government’s failure to fully implement the peace agreement they signed in 1996. A massive September 13 attack by the Army prompted speculation Malik was one of the casualties. He laughed off the report.

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