MILF denies firefight vs BIFF

ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING It’s a message one can’t say often enough, so this young Muslim boy makes sure it gets read once more during an interfaith rally at Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City on Friday. The rally comes on the heels of the Jan. 25 Mamasapano clash in Maguindanao province that killed 44 police commandos, 18 Moro rebels and several civilians. ARNOLD ALMACEN

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—“They may have fired their weapons but there was no encounter between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). The distance between the two groups (was) at least 10 kilometers.”

So clarified MILF vice chair for military affairs Von Al Haq about media reports of a firefight between MILF and BIFF forces on Thursday night in Pikit, North Cotabato province, which led to the mass evacuation of civilians from nearby villages.

Al Haq said that MILF forces under Commander Jack Abas, and BIFF gunmen headed by Kagi Karialan, had indeed fired their weapons but the distance between the two groups was too big for the incident to be considered a firefight.

The MILF official said military troops stationed nearby might have misinterpreted the shots fired as a gun battle and reported this to their commander.

But Al Haq acknowledged that “there is tension on the ground (because of the BIFF presence in an MILF area),” with the BIFF appearing to have sought refuge in the area in the aftermath of the Mamasapano incident since its leader, Karialan, had some relatives there.

Forty-four police commandos and 18 Moro rebels died in the Mamasapano clash on Jan 25.

Involved in criminality

Another source, who did not want to be identified, said Abas and Karialan regularly clash because they were involved in a feud that stemmed from the arrest of a Karialan follower by Abas followers a few years back over allegations of the BIFF’s involvement in criminality.

The source said Karialan had demanded the return of the firearm seized from his follower but Abas’ group had refused to do so.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines also denied there was a firefight between the two groups in Barangay Kabasalan, Pikit town, despite the text messages that circulated about military operations in the area that supposedly happened before 6 p.m. on Thursday.

No encounter

“Information circulated that there was an operation of the military and the MILF to bomb Kabasalan, but this is not true,” said AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, adding that the information “caused fear among residents, who relocated to other barangays.”

Although tension rose when two groups claiming to be MILF and BIFF arrived in the area, “our officials on the ground said there was no encounter.”

North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza said as much, saying she was not aware of any post-Mamasapano operation by the MILF against the BIFF.

“What was the MILF’s motive to run after the BIFF? I was not informed,” Mendoza said, adding that if a firefight had erupted, it must be because of the long-standing feud between Abas and Karialan as reported by her sources on the ground.

“Way before the Mamasapano incident, these two groups were already at loggerheads,” she said.

Senior Insp. Sindatu Karim, Pikit police chief, said Abas obviously acted against Karialan’s effort to seek refuge in an area that the MILF considers its territory.

“The MILF was in the village to prevent the entry of the BIFF,” he said.

Capt. Jo-anne Petinglay, spokesperson of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao, said Abas’ men were in Kabasalan to conduct a peace dialogue and had prior coordination with the military.

On Thursday, the military got a report that Karialan’s group was already in the vicinity of Sultan sa Barongis town in Maguindanao, Petinglay said.

Massive evacuation

Tahira Kalantongan, Pikit social welfare officer, said the incident forced some 300 families to flee on Thursday evening. “We are still validating; the number of families could go higher,” she said.

“Kabasalan, (Pikit), is (now) 100-percent deserted,” Kalantongan said, adding that residents “have been in this situation in the past so they fled rather than be caught in the middle of shooting war.”

She said the displaced families from Pikit were now temporarily staying at Bulol High School in Barangay Bulol and in the Poblacion area, where their relatives live.

“I was really surprised (about) the massive evacuation when there was no actual fighting,” the social welfare officer said. “But I understand, they have been in this (situation) in the past.” With a report from Julie M. Aurelio

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