ZAMBOANGA CITY, 6 May 2007 — A local court has ordered the arrest of a senior leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and ten others in connection with simultaneous attacks that killed three soldiers in the restive southern island of Jolo.
Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, the military commander for western Mindanao, said the warrants include 3 counts for murder, two counts for frustrated murder and six counts for attempted murder.
Troops were battling Malik’s forces accused of attacking a Marine base and the town hall of Panamao town on April 13, killing three soldiers and a civilian.
The military also accused Malik’s group of sheltering Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah militants on the island in Sulu province, about 950 kilometer south of Manila.
“He is a fugitive and we will help the police track down and arrest Malik and those involved in the attacks,” Cedo told Arab News yesterday.
Malik has denied military allegations that his group was coddling terrorists.
Malik accused the military of attacking MNLF forces and killing civilians in the guise of pursuing the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah.
The military said it was targeting Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah hiding in the camp controlled by the MNLF. Last month, soldiers shelled a base of Khaid Ajibun, one of the most influential MNLF rebel leaders in Jolo island.
The MNLF, under Nur Misuari, signed a peace agreement with Manila in September 1996.
But Misuari accused the Arroyo government of failing to honor the accord and his forces attacked a major army base in Jolo in 2001. He fled to Malaysia after troops beat back his followers, but he was arrested by Malaysian authorities and deported to the Philippines. He is now facing rebellion charges.
Some 8,000 soldiers are involved in the operation against about a thousand MNLF rebels and Abu Sayyaf members and a dozen Jemaah Islamiyah militants, including Dulmatin and Umar Patek, who were both implicated in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.
