MILF to BIFF: Back peace

Offensive against BIFF

With considerable assistance from the MILF, the military and the police last month launched an offensive against the BIFF in Maguindanao and North Cotabato to flush out Filipino terrorist Basit Usman and his Malaysian associate Amin Baco who escaped from the Jan. 25 Special Action Force (SAF) counterterrorism operation in Mamasapano.

The SAF killed Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” in that operation that went terribly wrong when the commandos got into clashes with BIFF and MILF guerrillas and armed residents of Mamasapano.

Forty-four SAF commandos, 17 MILF rebels and three civilians were killed in the daylong gun battle.

The deaths of the commandos sparked a public outcry for justice and opposition to the BBL in Congress.

But cooperation between the government and the MILF continued, with the rebels clearing the way for government troops to launch the operation against the BIFF.

The military offensive against the BIFF, however, resulted in the displacement of 95,000 people in Maguindanao, according to the grassroots group Mindanao Peoples’ Caucus.

Red Cross statement

In a statement issued Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said civilians continued to suffer from the fighting in Central Mindanao.

“Although the fighting in Maguindanao has stopped, irregular skirmishes and uncertainty in the area prevent displaced families from returning to their homes,” Pascal Mauchle, head of the ICRC delegation in the Philippines, said in the statement.

Adding to the evacuees’ woes is the drought brought by El Niño, making the displaced families dependent on aid, Mauchle said.

“The prolonged dry season has increased the vulnerability of the displaced families, in terms of their livelihood and health. Each day in these temporary sites is a major struggle for them, and the future remains unclear,” Mauchle said.

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