13 Moro rebels slain in clashes
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:12:00 11/12/2008
Filed Under: Armed conflict, The Southern Campaign
COTABATO CITY, Philippines—At least 13 Moro rebels were killed in separate clashes with government forces in Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato last Monday.
Army troops backed by bomber planes and artillery fire pushed back an attempt by 200 rebels led by Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Abdullah Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, to take over two villages in Wao town, Lanao del Sur province on Monday, officials said.
Lt. Col. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the 29th Infantry Battalion, said the rebels retreated after six hours of almost continuous artillery bombardment.
Soldiers and militiamen found seven dead MILF rebels in the battle scene, Arevalo said in a phone interview.
Troops recovered empty B-40 rockets, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and personal belongings of the slain rebels.
At least six other MILF rebels were killed and seven wounded when about 30 MILF rebels under Ombra Kato attacked a militia-Army base in the village of Rangaban, Midsayap, North Cotabato on Monday night, the military here said.
The rebels fled with their slain comrades after the hour-long gun battle.
No casualty was reported on the government side in both clashes.
The explosions and gun-bursts sent residents in Rangaban and nearby barangays (villages) fleeing.
Kato and Bravo are two of the three rebel commanders that government forces have been hunting for allegedly leading a bloody rampage in several Muslim communities in central Mindanao in August.
But Eid Kabalu, the spokesperson for the MILF, disputed the Army report, saying that the military had been reporting heavy rebel casualties while keeping quiet about the number of its own fatalities.
“I think they suffered 23 slain soldiers in the Wao skirmishes,” Kabalu said, adding that government forces initiated the offensive in Barangay Park.
He said residents of Wao reported the heavy deployment of government forces three days before the attack on an MILF area on the border of Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon.
Kabalu also claimed that about 20 soldiers were slain when MILF forces ambushed an Army truck in Wao but that the military had kept it under wraps.
Col. Nicanor Dolojan, commander of the 403rd Army Brigade, denied the Kabalu’s claims.
“It’s merely black propaganda,” Dolojan said.
Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said that unlike the rebels, the military cannot hide its battle casualties because they are reported to soldiers’ families.
Maj. Michelle Anayron, spokesperson of the 4th ID civil military community affairs, said the government did not suffer any casualties “because we thoroughly planned our air and ground assault forces.”
Dolojan said the military has launched a preemptive strike to prevent the rebels from nearing civilian areas.
Perla Eniego, Wao information officer, said the fighting forced hundreds of villagers to flee to the town center, using schools as temporary shelter. Edwin O. Fernandez and Richel V. Umel, Inquirer Mindanao
|
