MARAWI CITY—Amid a raging controversy over a proposed peace deal seeking to end a separatist war in Mindanao, Moro rebels Sunday ambushed an Army convoy in Lanao del Sur, killing seven people and wounding 12 in what the military denounced as a “treacherous attack.”

The Army team, composed of soldiers and paramilitary forces, were carrying salaries and allowances intended for distribution to militiamen when about 100 rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked them with 60-cal. machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other high-powered guns, officials said.

Moro rebels carried out the ambush in Malundo town amid a controversy over a proposed agreement between the government and the MILF calling for the establishment of a Bangsamoro homeland with wide political and economic powers in Mindanao. The deal is under scrutiny by the Supreme Court.

The guerrilla attack also came four days after the government ended a massive three-day assault that dislodged about 500 rebels from 15 farming villages they had seized in North Cotabato, displacing tens of thousands of people.

Col. Rey Ardo, commander of the Army’s 103rd Brigade based here, said the militiamen and soldiers were part of the three-vehicle convoy of the 5th Infantry Battalion, which was on its way to the towns of Lumbayanage and Lumbatan to deliver salaries and allowances of militiamen.

The firing lasted for about 12 minutes, Ardo said.

He said the rebels then fled and “merged” with civilians in the villages of Buadepuso, Maguing and Maguing areas.

“We know that we are still on ceasefire, but we are going to take punitive actions against this group,” Ardo said.

He said most of the casualties were militiamen.

In Manila, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, described the ambush as a “treacherous attack” and said it was “again another stumbling block toward the attainment of lasting peace in Mindanao.”

“Such attacks cannot be allowed to go on. As the only legitimate armed forces, we shall pursue the perpetrators of this criminal act and ensure that the laws of the country are respected,” Torres said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

The military convoy was led by Lt. Col. Ramon Florece.

Eight of those wounded were Army personnel and the rest members of the Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU), the military said.

The rebels fired on the convoy from high ground, according to Army Brig. Gen. Hilario Atendido, chief of the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade.

“It was a continuous firefight with our troops calling for help. Luckily, a company from the 33rd Infantry Battalion was nearby and rushed to the scene,” Atendido said.

Non-combat mission

“We will file the proper complaint before the CCCH (Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities) to get to the bottom of the incident,” said Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., Army spokesperson.

The CCCH is a joint committee composed of representatives of the MILF and the military that resolves incidents of violence between the two sides.

“The troops will pursue the attackers for as long as possible,” Brawner said, noting that the area was now having bad weather.

No link to N. Cotabato

Brawner and Atendido denied the ambush was related to the clearing operations in North Cotabato.

“The two provinces are adjacent but the incidents are not related,” Brawner said.

Rebel spokesperson Eid Kabalu confirmed that the attackers were members of the 11,000-strong MILF but said he was checking what triggered the attack, according to The Associated Press.

“They won’t attack without any justifiable ground,” Kabalu told the AP by telephone, adding that the group maintains many strongholds in the mountainous Lanao del Sur province.

Despite the rebel pullout from North Cotabato, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander Yano last week said that security in Mindanao remained “volatile and fluid.”

Land dispute

In Sultan Kudarat province, suspected MILF rebels on Saturday raided a remote village in Kalamansig town, killing two villagers and forcing the evacuation of about 400 families.

Mayor Rolando Garcia said the attackers, led by a certain Commander Boyet, landed on Friday night in the coastal village of Sangay and stayed there overnight.

At dawn, they roamed around the village and chanced upon an armed militiaman who was farming with his water buffalo, Garcia said.

The mayor said the farmer was shot at close range. Another farmer nearby was also shot dead.

Col. Julieto Ando, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, said land conflict was the root cause of peace and order problem in Sangay, a two-hour boat ride from Kalamansig town center, about 80 kilometers south of Cotabato City. With reports from Richel V. Umel, Jeoffrey B. Maitem and Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao