Fear, frustration driving some Christians to take up arms, says Jolo bishop

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

Some Christians are arming themselves against extremists in Southern Philippines because they are getting increasingly “desperate,” according to Bishop Angelito Lampon of the Vicariate of Jolo.

According to him, around 300 Christians have armed themselves and have taken the name “Red God Soldiers” out of frustration and fear.

“This is a kind of desperate attempt by these Christians who are being attacked now and then by these armed groups,” said Lampon in a post on CBCP News, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

According to the prelate, he sees the uprising among Christian community as a way of calling on the government to address their problem.
“If the government troops can defend civilians whether they are Muslims or Christians, then I think it will not come to this,” added Lampon.

“If only there’s enough security for them, I think they will not take up arms. But if they feel helpless, I guess it’s their form of self-defense,” he said.

In an apparent show of force, the militant organization on Tuesday showed their firearms, as they vowed to drive Moro renegades from their communities.

The group also burned a flag of the Islamic State and condemned recent attacks by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said Lampon in the CBCP News article.

He added that the militamen vowed to fight the BIFF for the sake of their families, communities, and in the name of self-defense.

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