2 killed in fighting between gov’t, MILF forces in Lanao del Sur

Moro Islamic Liberation Front AFP FILE PHOTO

COTABATO CITY, Philippines–Fighting erupted anew Friday between soldiers and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, this time in Lanao del Sur.

A soldier and an MILF field commander were killed in the latest clash, which took place between the towns of Marantao and Balindong around 4 p.m., Captain Frank Suelto, spokesperson of the military’s 1st Division, told the Inquirer in a telephone interview Saturday.

He identified the slain rebel leader as Habier Macagaan, an aide to MILF commander Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo, but did not identify the soldier killed in the hour-long clash.

He said soldiers were waiting for a TV crew, to whom they were to provide security, when they were attacked by Macagaan’s group.

“We did not fire the first shot. I think there was a misunderstanding. They might have thought that our soldiers were in the area to serve a warrant on Macagaan,” Suelto said.

The Lanao del Sur incident was the second case of violence involving soldiers and MILF guerrillas this week. On Thursday, a clash took place in Matalam, North Cotabato.

Lieutenant Leonard Lopez, speaking for the 7th Infantry Battalion, blamed the MILF for the clash in the village of Malamote.

Lopez said some 50 MILF rebels, belonging to the 108th Base Command, harassed a military detachment in the area, forcing the soldiers to retaliate in what became an exchange of gunfire that went on sporadically for about three hours.

“Our forces were deployed there to serve as peacekeeping force in a land conflict involving MILF and some farmers,” Lopez said.

The clashes come amid complaints by the MILF about a watering down by Malacañang of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law that would serve as the charter of the envisioned Bangsamoro autonomous region.

The MILF’s main complaint was the subject of several days of talks in Kuala Lumpur between the government and the rebel group’s peace panels.

No progress was reported, however, at the end of talks on Thursday which were aimed at discussing the changes proposed by Malacañang, as the MILF maintained it did not want to renegotiate an agreement that had already been signed by both sides.

The two panels, however, agreed “to continue working together to come up with a mutually acceptable draft Bangsamoro Basic Law,” according to a news release issued by the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process.

“They (the panels) agreed to continue discussions on specific concerns in Manila within the next few days. They recognize the importance of these discussions in order to ensure that the draft law would be submitted to Congress the soonest possible time,” the news release added. With reports from Nash Maulana and Ryan Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao

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