Moro rebels attack anew; 5 wounded

COTABATO CITY—Five militiamen were wounded when members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) tossed a grenade at a detachment of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in Datu Hoffer town in Maguindanao on Saturday night.

Lieutenant Colone; Bernie Langub, chief of the 38th Infantry Battalion which has supervision over all Cafgus in Maguindanao, said the victims were having an early evening congregational Islamic prayer when the grenade attack happened.

Rushed to the Maguindanao provincial hospital in nearby Shariff Aguak town were para-military troops Suiti Salik, Tata Salik, Kamad Guialudin, Dante Ali and Tautin Upaw, all with shrapnel injuries in different parts of their bodies.

Speaking for the 6th Infantry Division, Col. Prudencio Asto said four BIFF members launched the 6:30 p.m. attack.

“They were on board two separate motorcycles and as they approached the detachment, they tossed the explosive,” Asto said.

Thousands of Moro civilians remained in evacuation centers almost a month after BIFF forces simultaneously attacked military installations in Maguindanao’s five towns.

Many of the evacuees refused to return home and preferred to stay in evacuation sites unless normalcy has been fully restored in their communities.

On Sunday, after three weeks of class suspension, elementary and high school classes in five towns have resumed, according to Meriam Kawit, Maguindanao division 1 supervisor of the Department of Education.

Classes in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where Maguindanao belongs begin Sundays and end Thursdays. Fridays and Saturdays are rest days.

“The evacuees have to vacate the classrooms and stay outside during class hours and re-enter at night,” Kawit said, adding that some 7,000 students have to cope with the missed lectures by adding additional class hours per day. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao