(Editors’ note: We are reposting this story to clarify that only three children’s bodies were found, not 13 as earlier reported)
COTABATO CITY —The military claimed Friday that the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was being aided by at least “two foreign combatants” and that it was making use of child warriors as evidenced by the bodies of boys recovered among rebels killed in fighting on Friday.
Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesperson of the military’s 6th Infantry Division, corrected an earlier report attributed to him by the Inquirer that 13 of the 53 BIFF fighters the military claims to have been killed since the current round of hostilities began last Sunday were those of children.
He said it must have been the result of a mis-communication as the figure 13 referred to the number of rebels killed Friday as fighting continued in Maguindanao.
“There were indeed children based on the bodies that we have recovered. But there were only three bodies belonging to minors,” he said, adding that they were aged between 15 and 16.
“They were child fighters because they were in fatigue uniforms with BIFF markings and possessed firearms,” Hermoso said.
Hermoso said the slain child combatants, along with some 20 other dead rebels, had been properly identified through the help of local officials.
They were also buried according to traditional Islamic rites by local clerics, he said.
Hermoso said the discovery of the bodies of the children proved what the military has been saying all along – that the BIFF was fielding minors in battle. He said this was a clear violation of international war protocols and humanitarian laws.
“We strongly denounce the use of child soldiers. They should be in school and not in the battleground,” Hermoso added.
Abu Misry Mama, BIFF spokesperson, laughed off Hermoso’s claims.
“The military has been saying a lot of things but these are all lies,” he said.
Mama said there were child combatants in the BIFF.
After days of denials that the BIFF had suffered any fatalities in the fighting, Mama admitted Friday that BIFF fighters had been killed.
Brig. Gen. Eduardo Pangilinan, commander of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, said at least two foreign combatants have been fighting alongside BIFF forces since the government offensive was launched five days ago.
He said military intelligence units reported that among them was Malaysian militant Zulkifli Bin Hir, who carries a prize of $5 million on his head for his alleged involvement in the 2002 bombings in Bali that left 110 foreign nationals dead.
Hermoso said the operation was working in favor of the government with only a single military fatality. Thirteen other soldiers were wounded.
He said if this trend continued, the military would wrap up its assault on BIFF positions in two to three days.
“Hopefully, with this development the fighting will die down and the internally displaced persons may return home,” Hermoso said.
But Mama said their fighters were willing to die and would not be backing off.
“Our stance remains, we will fight to the last drop of our blood in defense of our rights,” he said.
The BIFF broke away from the MILF over disagreements concerning peace talks with the government.
In a statement, government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer ppealed to BIFF forces to become part of the peace process.
“We ask them to listen to the plea of their own brothers and sisters to give peace a chance,” she said.
Ferrer said BIFF forces willing to support the peace process with the MILF would be most welcome.
“We know that BIFF members can also contact supporters or local ground commanders of the MILF who could facilitate their return to normal lives. These and other avenues are open for those among the BIFF who are ready to join us in our peace efforts,” she said.
Ferrer said that while the government was saddened by the displacement of civilians, “the ongoing military operations are geared at degrading the BIFF’s capability to continue to cause harm to the government forces, civilians and the peace process.”
The BIFF is the armed wing of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, the group founded by former MILF commander Ameril Umra Kato about two years over disagreements over the conduct of the talks.
Ferrer said in this operation, “the MILF is assisting…by helping the government contain the movements of the BIFF.”
(Reports from Edwin Fernandez, Jeoffrey Maitem, Judy Quiros and Ryan Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao)