MANILA, Philippines—Government forces pursuing Ameril Ombra Kato Sunday said they had overrun two of his encampments but had found no trace of the wily Moro commander blamed for the recent surge of violence in Central Mindanao, the military reported.

But the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) denied military claims that two “satellite camps” of Kato had fallen. MILF civil-military chief Eid Kabalu said the military must have been referring to “positions.”

Col. Marlou Salazar, the 601st Army Brigade commander based in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao province, said his forces on Sunday drove Kato’s men from what he called an MILF training camp in the remote village of Pusaw in Mamasapano.

Salazar said the Pusaw camp fell Sunday after an overnight artillery barrage and a bombing run by an OV10 aircraft.

On Friday, the military also claimed to have captured Kato’s satellite facility—called Camp Vietnam—in nearby Datu Piang after pounding it with artillery fire and air strikes. Salazar did not give details on what that facility was or how many rebels were dislodged there.

In all, Salazar said, MILF fighters had been driven away from five villages.

Agence France Presse, in a report attributed to military spokesperson Col. Julieto Ando, said more than 100 MILF fighters had been killed in four days of fighting.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer could not independently confirm Ando’s claim. Kabalu said only that the MILF had suffered seven dead and eight wounded.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said that as of Sunday, 13 soldiers and four militiamen had been killed and 62 soldiers wounded mostly in ambushes in Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in Camp Aguinaldo said 49 civilians had been killed and 65 wounded in the upsurge of violence in Mindanao since the scuttled signing of a memorandum of agreement with the MILF in Malaysia on Aug. 5 triggered impatient MILF commanders to go on a rampage.

240,000 affected

The NDCC said fighting had also “affected” 240,000 people who were either robbery victims, or had their houses strafed or burned, or had lost their livelihood. Of the affected people, 75,000 remained in 104 evacuation centers.

Salazar told the Inquirer in a phone interview that the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion overran the Pusaw camp located near the boundary of Mamasapano and Datu Piang towns at 3 p.m. Sunday, and that there was only “token resistance.”

Kabalu also said that aside from fighting in Maguindanao, MILF rebels were also engaged in clashes with the military in Barangay Pananag, Maasim, Sarangani; Midsayap, North Cotabato; and Guindulungan, Maguindanao.

He said that four to five days ago, the military attacked the MILF’s peacekeeping task force in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao while trying to restore law and order in the barangays (villages) where there had been a “rido” or clan war.

“We are on active defense. We can also attack as long as it’s necessary,” he added.

A serious blow

The military said the fall of the MILF camp in Pusaw was a serious blow to Kato’s 105th Base Command. Kato reportedly leads 500-1,000 fighters of the 12,000-strong MILF.

Salazar said the one-hectare camp was fortified with trenches and even had a “custodial center.” He said it was strategically located on the main road and near the boundary of Mamasapano and Datu Piang towns.

It was among the series of MILF camps that led toward Liguasan Marsh, a Moro stronghold, Salazar said.

He said “intense” fighting raged from midnight and up to 6 a.m. Sunday. He said the MILF guerrillas put up a fierce resistance and troops were forced to move “inch by inch forward” to the camp.

“Then there was a lull in the fighting with only sporadic firefights,” Salazar said.

He said four soldiers had been killed and around 20 others wounded in his battalion since their search for Kato began Aug. 20.

The 601st Army Brigade is tasked with going after Kato, who along with comrade Abdulla Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, has been charged with murder, arson and illegal detention by the government.

The government has also offered a P5-million bounty for anyone who could lead the military to Kato and Bravo.

No plan to surrender Kato

In a news conference on Saturday at Camp Darapanan, the main MILF camp in Sultan Kudarat, MILF chief Ibrahim Murad insisted he would not surrender Kato. Murad said Kato’s case would be discussed if and when both peace panels return to the negotiating table.

Murad had called for a halt in the military operations as he expressed the MILF’s willingness to go back to negotiations.

Also Sunday, local health authorities reported that five civilians from several Datu Piang villages in Maguindanao had been killed in the military air strikes and artillery shelling. Three children were reported wounded in the attacks.

Dr. Elizabeth Samama, Maguindanao provincial physician, identified the fatalities as Homedy Abubakar, 11, of Barangay Butilen; Sallilama Guimano, 60, of Barangay Damatulan; Amelil Usop, 47, of Barangay Balanaken; seven-month pregnant Sabaniya Dimodtang, 35, and a certain Indeg, 60, of Barangay Montay.