MILF blasts state troops for killing of 7 members in Maguindanao del Sur

COMMON GRAVE Relatives bury the seven Moro Islamic Liberation Front members in a common grave hours after they were killed on Sunday during the joint police and military operation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur. —PHOTO FROM THE HUSAIN FAMILY

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is set to lodge a complaint before the Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) against the combined police and Army team that killed seven of its members in Datu Paglas town, Maguindanao del Sur at dawn on Sunday.

Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF peace implementing panel, on Monday said the seven men killed in a law enforcement operation at 2 a.m. on Sunday were MILF members, refuting the military’s claim that they were members of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The MILF, which has forged a peace agreement with the government that led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2019, believed the killing of its members has to be resolved by the CCCH, a body composed of Armed Forces and MILF leaders that was created to ensure that the provisions of the peace pact are followed and to investigate any incident that can threaten the accord.

Iqbal said the government troops violated the ceasefire agreement and the terms of reference of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (Ajag), a mechanism between the government and the MILF that responds to criminality and terrorism in areas with MILF presence.

“(There was) no coordination (for the operation),” said Iqbal, also the Minister of Education in the BARMM.

Igbal identified the slain MILF members as Nasser Yussef Husain, also known as Tutin Usop; his sibling Norjihad Husain, also known as Datdat Usop of the town’s Barangay Madidis; and Mamex Karem, Dela Singkala, Morsid Madidis, and brothers Jerry and Punpugay Pagugunang, all residents of the town’s Barangay Damawato.

Legitimate operation?

Police Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, the BARMM police director, said operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) were to implement a search warrant against the Husain siblings linked to the bombing of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) tower in Carmen, Cotabato in 2016 and the Datu Paglas public market attack by BIFF in 2021.

Police Capt. Nurjhasier Sali, Datu Paglas police chief, said it was a legitimate operation that went “ugly when the gunmen started firing at law enforcers.”

But relatives of the seven men claimed it was a “rubout.” They also denied the police’ claim that those slain were members of local armed groups involved in criminal activities.

Mirinda Husain, mother of Nasser and Norjihad, said she was awakened by a series of gunfire before dawn on Sunday and later found her sons and five others dead in their compound.

“My sons were legitimate members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. They are not BIFF members,” Husain told a radio station in Tacurong City.

She said her sons and the other victims were all under 11th Brigade of the MILF national guard division. Nasser was a brigade commander while the other fatalities were under his command.

Both Nasser and Norjihad were under the command of George Kasim, commander of the national guard division of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the military arm of MILF.

MILF spokesperson Von Alhaq also confirmed that Kasim was a top MILF commander.

Call for impartial probe

The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the governing body of BARMM, on Monday passed a resolution condemning the incident and calling for an immediate and impartial probe.

“We cannot turn a blind eye against injustices committed against our own people, against those who dedicated their lives in pursuit of peace and freedom,” said BTA Parliament Member Baileng Mantawil in a privileged speech during the session on Monday.

He added: “The raid conducted in the midst of the peace process raises serious questions about the manner in which it was executed. Reports of excessive force, handcuffing and killings in sacred spaces cast a dark shadow on the credibility of the operation. We cannot allow such acts to go unpunished, we must demand a thorough, impartial and speedy investigation into these grave violations.”

All the seven fatalities were buried in the Husain residential compound in Barangay Madidis on Sunday.

Husain said the police barged into several houses in the Husain residential compound in Barangay Madidis and started firing at 2 a.m. on Sunday. She recalled asking for the search warrant but the law enforcers did not show any. Before the shooting, the spouses of her sons were forcibly brought to one area of the compound.

Emilyn, wife of Norjihad, said she hugged her husband to ensure he was safe but she was pulled by the police and brought to another area in the compound. The next time she saw him, Norjihad was already dead.

The relatives claimed that police operatives took the sibling’s mobile phones, P400,000 cash and jewelry.

Who fired first

However, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command on Monday released a statement identifying the slain seven as members of the BIFF–Karialan Faction.

Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of Joint Task Force Central, said the operating troops were serving search warrants on the suspects for alleged violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

“When they were approaching the subjects’ residence, an undetermined number of BIFF members fired upon the government forces, which resulted in the wounding of one police personnel,” he said.

The troops fired back, which also resulted in the deaths of the seven BIFF members, including the two subjects of the search warrants, Rillera said.

Rillera said that government forces seized six firearms, including one Uzi, two M16 rifles, and three caliber .45 pistols, and assorted ammunition. INQ

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