MANILA: Philippine troops have prepared for a possible escalation of fighting with Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters after Ramadan ends, although the MILF is believed to be suffering from shortages of ammunition and other supplies, a military official said yesterday.
There have been concerns that the end of Ramadan this week could spark renewed attacks by the 11,000-strong MILF fighters, who have been sporadically battling thousands of troops since Malaysian-brokered peace talks stalled last month. The military “is more than capable to address the emergence of threat scenarios, and we have prepared contingencies,” military spokesman Brig. Gen. Jorge Segovia told a news conference, appealing to the public to remain calm and vigilant.
After 185 clashes since Aug. 10, mostly in the mountainous and marshy heartland of the southern Mindanao region, the fighters are running low on ammunition, medicine and food supplies, although they are looking for ways to bolster their combat capability, Segovia said.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said his group was on “active defense” and its commanders would not launch attacks unless they needed to repel a military assault on their communities.
“There is really nothing in our plans to conduct attacks or bombings after Ramadan,” Kabalu said.
He warned that other armed groups, including Al-Qaeda-linked militants, might stage attacks that could be blamed on his group, which could then trigger new clashes.
Government forces have been hunting three commanders of the group who attacked several predominantly Christian communities in four southern provinces last month. The clashes have left peace talks in tatters.
More than 20 soldiers have been killed and 100 others wounded in the fighting, which eased when Ramadan began but flared in the last two weeks. The military says more than 100 fighters have died, but MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said only about 30 of his men were killed, with another 30 wounded.
At least 68 civilians have been killed and more than half a million people were displaced or have lost their homes and livelihoods in the clashes, according to the government's National Disaster Coordinating Agency.
Felipe Donoso, who heads the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Philippines, said he was alarmed that battles erupted in the middle of communities last month. He urged combatants to take steps to avoid civilian casualties and damage to their homes and farms.
Red Cross volunteers safely escorted out 900-1,000 civilians who were trapped during intense fighting in southern Datu Piang township last month, Donoso said.
The MILF fighters have waged an uprising for self-rule for three decades.
