MILF drawn into fight to finish off Maute

An Army tank enters a school in Butig, Lanao del Sur, that had been occupied by members of the Maute group. —RICHEL V. UMEL

COTABATO CITY—A Moro rebel group currently negotiating for a new autonomous government in Mindanao is helping the military finish off members of the Maute group, a crime gang that had declared its affiliation with the international terror network Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS).

Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had entered into a peace pact with the government under then President Aquino, clashed with Maute members who are fleeing military operations in Butig, a town in Lanao del Sur that Maute occupied.

During the clash in the borders of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, a member of MILF was seriously wounded, said Von Al Haq, MILF military chief.

Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, cited a report from MILF saying MILF members, under a certain Jimmu Balitor, intercepted a group of Maute members between the towns of Buldon and Barira in Maguindanao and Butig in Lanao del Sur.

The Maute members were apparently withdrawing from Butig when they were intercepted by MILF forces, according to Tan.

He said the military in the area is coordinating with the group of Balitor. Soldiers had been sent to conduct “complementary combat operations” to help MILF.

Al Haq said at least 50 Maute gunmen had tried to enter the perimeter of the MILF’s Sultan Base when they clashed with MILF members.

He said the clash took place as MILF tried to drive away the “intruders.”

Al Haq could not say whether the Maute group had suffered casualties in the clash but Tan said based on reports, some gang members had been wounded, or even killed.

Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr, head of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said soldiers from the 37th Infantry Battalion had also set up a blocking force against Maute members who are now fleeing MILF fighters.

Galvez said the military has sent combat helicopters to the area to evacuate MILF rebels, who might have been wounded in the clash.

Two weeks ago, soldiers also battled Maute group members in Butig.

The military later said it drove the local terror group out of Butig after days of fighting. Soldiers, the military said, continue to pursue Maute members who are now on the run. —EDWIN FERNANDEZ WITH A REPORT FROM JULIE ALIPALA