13 Sulu civilians brought to military camp for safekeeping

MANILA, Philippines – Military troops stationed in Sulu took civilians who wandered into the scene of an encounter between government forces and 300 members of the Abu Sayyaf for “safekeeping,” a military official said Wednesday.

Major Edilberto Aramponi, Civil-Military Operations officer of the Armed Forces Joint Task Group Sulu, said Scout Rangers took the 13 civilians who strayed into Sitio Balikbayan, Barangay (village) Kuhaw around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

On Friday, five soldiers were killed and 26 others were injured in the clash in the village.

The Al-Qaeda-linked extremists’ side suffered four fatalities when they engaged about 80 Scout Rangers in a firefight.

“These people were civilians, our troops took them for safekeeping in case another encounter happened,” Aramponi said. “They might get caught in the crossfire.”

The Scout Rangers brought the civilians to the JTG headquarters in Barangay Busbus, Jolo, Sulu on Wednesday where government troops asked them to determine if the villagers are sympathizers of the armed group.

Aramponi said a Huey helicopter brought the civilians to the JTG Headquarters.

He added that local police officers helped them in the initial investigation while officers of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council would pick up the civilians.

“The civilians are not arrested, they are here for safekeeping, we entertained them when we brought them here and we also gave them food,” Aramponi said.

Of the 13 civilians, two were 40-year-old women with two children aged five and 10.