ZAMBOANGA CITY, 9 November 2005 — The younger brother of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) spokesman Eid Kabalu was killed in a firefight with policemen in the southern Philippines, officials said yesterday.
Officials said police forces killed Abdul Bayan Kabalu and arrested his cousin Mustafa in a house in Cotabato City near Maguindanao province late Monday afternoon.
A third man, Samsuddin Katambak, who is wanted by the police on drug charges, escaped, officials said.
Police tagged the young Kabalu as a notorious drug dealer in Maguindanao, a known MILF stronghold. The family of the slain man denied the reports, but other relatives admitted that he was previously imprisoned on drug charges.
“We are also investigating all these allegations, but my brother was killed unarmed. There was no firefight,” Eid Kabalu told Arab News.
Police in Cotabato City said Kabalu’s group opened fire on them while their were trying to arrest Katambak.
“It was a legitimate anti-drug operation. They opened fire on us and we only retaliated in self-defense,” a policeman, involved in the operation, said, adding, his group recovered a homemade .45-caliber pistol and M16 ammunition, and drug paraphernalia in the house, owned by Kabalu’s sister Kalima.
National police chief Arturo Lomibao said the incident will not affect the ongoing government peace talks with the MILF.
“This is a legitimate police operation. This (incident) is not covered by the gambit of the peace talks,” he said.
But Eid Kabalu said it would have a serious repercussions on the peace negotiations if it is proven that his brother was murdered.
“We urge the authorities to investigate the killing because my brother was allegedly shot while raising his arms to surrender,” he said.
He said his brother was buried yesterday and that the family was grieving.
Manila opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 in an effort to put an end in the decades-old Muslim insurgency problem in the south.
