Beheaded soldier was ‘Zamboanga siege’ hero

The Tausug soldier who was beheaded by his Abu Sayyaf captors in Sulu was a hero of the “Zamboanga Siege” in 2013.

S/Sgt Anni Siraji was “one professional soldier” who defended Zamboanga against attacks by a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) loyal to its founding chair Nur Misuari, according to Col. Jemar Aseron, a former commander of the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion.

Siraji, a former MNLF member himself, was integrated into the military when a peace pact was signed between the rebel group and the government in 1996.

Aseron said that during the siege, Siraji was deployed to protect government establishments in Barangay Santa Barbara.

“They were detailed [to] the Hall of Justice and elementary school in Santa Barbara. He fought alongside our regular troops,” he said.

“It’s a pity that Siraji, who was doing community peace work in Sulu, was beheaded,” Aseron said.

The soldier, who was abducted in Patikul, Sulu, on April 20, is the seventh victim of beheadings in Sulu in the past two years. Three foreigners (two Canadians and a German) and three other Filipinos have been beheaded since 2015.

On Monday, Malacañang condemned the beheading of Siraji, while two senators called for an all-out war against the bandit group, which recently clashed with the military in Bohol province.

“I hope the President declares an all-out war on them. Wipe [them] out,” Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson called for the creation of a group solely to bring down the bandits.

“It will do nothing except eat Abu Sayyaf [for] breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he said.

In a statement, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the remains of Siraji were found in the vicinity of Sitio Kan Suil, Barangay Tagbili in Patikul, Sulu, on April 23.

“While S/Sgt. Siraji was a soldier, he was an MNLF member who decided to trade his rifle as a fighter to become a peacemaker and agent of development to his fellow Tausugs,” Abella said.

He assured the family of Siraji that the government would not stop until justice was served.

Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar extended her sympathy to the family, adding that the city government would help them.

“Siraji was one of the heroes of the 2013 Zamboanga siege, who risked his life in defense of Zamboanga City, and he will be forever remembered,” Salazar said.

The beheading has sparked outrage among Bangsamoro people.

Habib Mudjahab Hashim, chair of the MNLF Islamic Command Council, condemned the beheading of any captive, Muslim or Christian.

“It is against the principle of any war. We can only appeal to the Abu Sayyaf to please desist from such actions, which are against the Islamic principles of warfare. We are also planning to talk to them about peace, not surrender,” Hashim said.

The religious Darul Ifta (House of Opinion) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) described as “inhuman and un-Islamic” the act by the Abu Sayyaf.

“During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the hypocrites ‘Munafiqoun’ of Madinah were the worst enemy of Islam but none among them were beheaded by the Muslims, all the more with the innocent people,” Alih Aiyub of Darul Ifta said.