‘Red God’ troops vow to fight BIFF

DARK CLOUDS hover over the gathering of an armed Christian group calling itself “Red God Soldiers” and claiming to be a defense force set up to protect civilian communities against attacks by members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Liberation Front (BIFF). JEOFFREY MAITEM / INQUIRER MINDANAO

SOMEWHERE IN CENTRAL MINDANAO—An armed group of a little more than 300 Christian settlers in this part of Mindanao has announced its presence and mission to defend communities that are steadily taking combat positions against Moro renegades and turning a struggle to be left alone in peace to a violent one.

The armed group is betraying very few clues about its membership or its leaders, but has taken the name “Red God Soldiers.”

At a gathering in a hinterland area here, the militiamen burned a replica of a black Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) flag, a gesture that tends to show who the armed group’s sworn enemies are—members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a renegade group that broke off from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) over peace talks with the government.

Members of Red God raised their assault rifles as they burned the ISIS flag replica.

Their enemy, BIFF, has been held responsible for a spate of deadly attacks on civilian communities in Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat in December, which killed at least 11 people.

‘Brother Asiong’

A Red God leader, who called himself “Brother Asiong” and said he spoke for the group, said members of Red God have grown tired of BIFF and would no longer cower in fear of the renegade Moro rebels.

Asiong said residents of communities being threatened by BIFF would have to stand up and fight for themselves because the military is not always there to defend them.

“We are always under attack even if we are just working in our farms,” said Asiong.

“We are forced to arm ourselves. We don’t want to die without doing something,” he told a group of reporters.

Asked where their firearms come from, Asiong said some of the weapons are from rogue members of the MILF, who have been selling their guns.

He also said the existence of the group is no secret to authorities.

“The military knows about our existence and we are not violating any law because we carry our weapons only within our community … not outside,” he said.

Land feuds

Asiong also urged President Aquino to help Christian communities deal with land feuds often with Moro neighbors, which he said got worse when BIFF joined the fray.

He said land claims made by Christian settlers are legitimate and supported by documents.

“But now the rebels (BIFF) want to take them (lands) back,” said Asiong.

He said, though, that Red God is different from the “Ilaga,” or “Tadtad,” which became notorious in the 1970s and 1980s for many cases of human rights violations in their fight against communist and Moro guerrillas.

Asiong said unlike the Ilaga, Red God forces would not stray from their communities and are on a defensive stance. Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao