HEIGHTENED ALERT Government troops position their tanks on Wednesday along the highway in Mamasapano where a clash between members of the SAF and the BIFF on Jan. 25 left 44 police commandos dead. On Thursday, fighting between Moro rebels and their breakaway group erupted in the town of Pikit, North Cotabato, where the BIFF, fearful of retaliation from government forces, had sought refuge. The MILF offensive is widely seen as their attempt to show the former is PH partner in the antiterror drive. JEOFFREY MAITEM/INQUIRER MINDANAO
COTABATO CITY, Philippines—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday afternoon launched an operation to flush out members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in North Cotabato province more than a week after the debacle in Maguindanao province.
A firefight broke out between the MILF forces under commander Jack Abbas and BIFF members in Barangay (village) Kabasalan, Pikit town, around 5:50 p.m. on Thursday, military officials said.
The MILF operation could be the group’s “way of showing they are partners and antiterrorist,” said an official of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), who asked not to be named.
“The fighting is going on now. Residents are evacuating,” Capt. Jo-anne Petinglay, spokesperson of the Army’s 6th Division, told the Inquirer by phone.
The BIFF, led by Kagi Karialan, resisted the MILF forces and exchanged gunfire, a military source said.
Abbas led some 1,000 men from the 108, 109 and 110 Base Commands (BCs) in the operation against the BIFF in Kabasalan, Pikit, officials said.
The Inquirer also learned he would mount a similar operation against the breakaway group in Sultan sa Barongis town, Maguindanao.
Fearing retaliation from government troops, the BIFF forces retreated to Pikit town after the Jan. 25 bloody clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, that killed 44 Special Action Force commandos, the military source said.
As they left the scene after killing Jemaah Islamiyah bomber Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” in his hideout in MILF territory, the SAF troopers clashed with MILF and BIFF rebels.
At least 18 rebels and four civilians were also killed in the encounter.
Racing against time
The high death toll has sparked public outrage, and the MILF’s role in the clash has threatened to throw a monkey wrench into the passage of a draft law carving a new Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.
Congress is racing against time to pass the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by March in keeping with its timeline of having the Bangsamoro government in place by the time President Aquino steps down in June 2016.
Accused of coddling the JI terrorist, the MILF had maintained it had no intelligence information of his presence in its territory.
Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief negotiator, had expressed hopes the MILF would be vindicated by the investigations of the clash once the “truth” comes out.
The MILF informed the CCCH that it would conduct a peace assembly in Barangay Kabasalan on Thursday, Petinglay said.
Through proper coordination, the military was informed of the MILF’s movement in the area, she said.
The CCCH official said the operation was coordinated with the CCCH and the Army’s 602nd Brigade and 7th IB.
Von Al Haq, MILF vice chair for military affairs, said they still had no clear reports from the ground but were able to monitor the BIFF movement in the area.
Late Thursday afternoon, civilians were frightened by the presence of MILF and BIFF in Kabasalan, Petinglay said.
The two groups have been monitored in the area since Tuesday, forcing civilians to flee and seek refuge in nearby villages, she said
“We have soldiers in the area tasked to ensure the safety of civilians,” she said.
Originally posted: 8:00 PM | Thursday, February 5th, 2015
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