The explosion that killed a member of Ameril Umra Kato’s Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement and wounded nine others in Maguindanao on Monday was the result of an attack “by other unidentified forces,” the group’s spokesperson said Thursday.
Ameril Umra Kato’s group on Friday made a complete turnaround from its earlier vow of all-out war against the military as it announced a respite from attacks carried out by its forces in Maguindanao.
Renegade Moro rebel leader Ameril Umra Kato and more than 100 of his followers have been charged for the bloody attacks on several villages and military camps in Maguindanao last month, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said Wednesday.
Two Moro guerrilla factions, one of them engaged in peace talks with government, clashed in Maguindanao on Tuesday, according to police yesterday.
Cotabato City Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema on Wednesday broke his silence over claims by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that he was one of several Maguindanao politicians who instigated the Aug. 5 attacks by followers of renegade Moro leader Ameril Umra Kato.
A security officer and two civilians were wounded in a roadside bombing near a police camp in Maguindanao on Wednesday and authorities immediately put the blame on the splinter rebel group, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, headed by Ameril Umra Kato.
A more radical leader has taken charge of renegade Moro guerrillas who launched a series of attacks on civilian communities that authorities said were aimed at sabotaging peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to the MILF.
Moro rebel leader Ameril Umbra Kato of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement was hospitalized in one of Cebu’s posh hospitals last month that was “facilitated and bankrolled” by a politician, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said.
The military yesterday said it would exercise caution in its bid to capture renegade Moro guerrillas who are now hiding among evacuees after their main camp was seized by government soldiers on Tuesday.
Dispersed after the military overran their stronghold on Tuesday, some of renegade Moro rebel commander Ameril Umra Kato’s men are now hiding in evacuation centers in towns in Maguindanao, a military spokesperson said Wednesday.
Governor Ismael Mangudadatu has called for an investigation on why rice provided by the United Nations World Food Program (UN-WFP) ended in the hands of breakaway Moro rebels behind the attacks that have displaced thousands of residents.
A senior Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) official yesterday said two prominent Maguindanao politicians were supporting the group of Ameril Umra Kato.
Police and military authorities yesterday completely retook the Maguindanao-General Santos City Highway from the hands of Moro gunmen identified with Ameril Umra Kato.
