Army soldiers sit idly in front of their backpacks as MILF fighters and members of the Joint Peace and Security Team sit nearby. (Photo from Lanao del Sur PNP)
COTABATO CITY – Erstwhile Moro rebels briefly held 39 soldiers from the Army’s First Special Forces Battalion who entered a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Lanao del Sur on Tuesday without prior coordination.
Police said the MILF forces belong to its 103rd base command that is stationed in Barangay Dilimbayan of Maguing town.
Maj. Alvison Mustapha, speaking for Lanao del Sur police, said not a single shot was fired as the “meeting” of the Army soldiers and MILF fighters was “tranquil and calm.”
Mustapha added that it was just a case of “misunderstanding that ended well.”
The MILF fighters are scheduled for decommissioning, in keeping with the 2014 peace deal it inked with the government.
To prevent unprovoked armed encounters, the government and the MILF had agreed on a ceasefire mechanism. This included the necessity of prior coordination for the movement of government troops within rebel strongholds, and for the movement of MILF forces outside of their recognized camps.
It was not yet known how the soldiers strayed into the MILF camp in Maguing.
Butch Malang, chair of the MILF ceasefire panel, said cooler heads prevailed and prevented a mis-encounter.
“Cooler heads prevailed, the soldiers were treated to a lunch by the MILF,” an Army officer said.
“It is now settled, just a little misunderstanding, there was no disarming of soldiers,” Malang said. “The MILF commanders just asked the Army to voluntarily put aside their firearms while the matter was being discussed.”
Malang said Marjanie Mimbantas-Macasalong, a member of the interim Bangsamoro parliament, and the MILF ceasefire committee in Lanao del Sur helped defuse the tension.
The Army Special Forces are part of the government’s military units that are hunting threat groups in the province, including remnants of Islamic State-linked militants and communist rebels.