Gov’t forces repel Moro rebel attack in North Cotabato

Members of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato—Moro rebels attacked a government-backed militia detachment in Midsayap, North Cotabato, on Wednesday but withdrew when Army soldiers and police arrived to reinforce the beleaguered militiamen who had engaged the rebels in an hour-long firefight.

Midsayap police chief Superintendent Reynante de los Reyes said a 50-strong band of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters attacked the militia detachment in Barangay (village) Baliki with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades but the outnumbered militiamen fought back and exchanged fire with the attackers for about an hour until the Army soldiers and police arrived past 9 p.m.

No casualties were reported on either side.

Barangay Baliki is the last village of Midsayap before the municipality of Datu Piang in Maguindanao. Datu Piang and Midsayap are separated by the Rio Grande de Mindanao, which the rebels used in attacking farmers in  Barangay Baliki.

As members of the Midsayap PNP and elements of the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion arrived in Barangay Baliki, the BIFF rebels fled aboard  motorboats and crossed toward Datu Piang.

It was the second such attack on Barangay Baliki by members of the BIFF  since Monday, when they fired on militiamen and farmers but withdrew quickly when government forces arrived.

In last Monday’s attack, as the rebels fled Barangay Baliki, they stormed Barangay Polomoguin, also in Midsayap, killing one farmer and taking away eight carabaos and two motorbikes from farmers.

The rebels also left one improvised explosive device.

Abu Misry Mama, speaking for the BIFF, a breakaway faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, admitted their group was involved in the Barangay Baliki attacks which he said were in retaliation for alleged harassment by militiamen.

The Midsayap incident came a day after more than 100 BIFF forces fired on a fuel tanker and harassed an Army camp  in Datu Piang, triggering a battle in which eight BIFF guerrillas were reportedly killed.

The fighting forced the Army to shut down portions of the Cotabato-Isulan highway as soldiers cleared the roadside of bombs left by the armed men.

Delos Reyes urged people living between the towns of Midsayap and Datu Piang to remain vigilant.  He urged them to quickly inform the police about the presence of armed men in the area to prevent a repeat of Monday’s and Wednesday’s attacks.