JOLO, 14 February 2005 — Three government soldiers were killed and at least 39 more wounded, including an army commander, in fierce clashes on Saturday near the town of Panamao in Jolo island, local officials said.
Pockets of skirmishes were also reported in nearby towns where troops are battling hundreds of Moro National Liberation Front members, blamed for bloody attacks since last week that left dozens of soldiers dead and wounded.
Most of the wounded in the latest skirmishes were from the 53rd Infantry Battalion, whose commander Lt. Col. Dennis Villanueva, was killed last week in a mortar attack.
Military reports said at least 57 rebels were also killed in seven days of fighting on the island.
Four pairs of OV-10 bombers and MG-520 attack helicopters took turns in bombing rebel positions in Panamao town, where gunmen were trying to reclaim a huge base captured by soldiers on Friday.
The military has not released the identities of its three latest fatalities, but Army spokesman Maj. Bartolome Bacarro said they were two privates and a sergeant.
The 13 soldiers wounded in Saturday’s clashes around two towns included Maj. Emmanuel Sison, new commander of the 53rd Infantry Battalion. Sison had just taken over from Lt. Col. Dennis Villanueva, who was killed in a mortar attack last week.
Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza said casualties were also growing among the insurgents, described as loyal followers of detained Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari.
Braganza said local officials had told the military the latest guerrilla fatalities included three commanders, one of them the younger brother of Malik, whom he did not identify.
The two others were Kumander Awing of Luuk town and Yahya Jailani of Basilan province.
Users of satellite phones in Sulu province said they had not been getting any signals since three days ago.
Officials also said earlier that Malik’s group was communicating with other leaders through mobile phones and that the government was trying to cut the links.
Cause of Fighting
Basilan Representative Gerry Salapuddin said that based on an investigation by his staff, the alleged Abu Sayyaf bandits which the military said soldiers killed in a raid in Maimbung on Feb. 1 were all civilians.
“One of those killed was a councilor of Barangay Pungol in Maimbung,” Salapuddin said.
He said the other slain “civilians” were Farsin Padiwan, his wife Nurshida and their 14-year-old son Aldasir. The couple’s 8-year-old son, Sayang, was wounded.
The death of the councilor and his family fueled the current violence, he said.
Malik, in an earlier statement, said the “massacre” was only one example of abuses committed by the military in Sulu.
Braganza said soldiers from the 53rd IB were conducting an operation in the area and knocking “on the door of a house there.”
“When two of our soldiers opened the door, a woman shot them. A firefight ensued,” he said.
Sulu Rep. Hussin Amin rejected the military’s version and urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to form an investigating body.
Malaca?ang said yesterday it was still not considering calling a halt to the Jolo operations, but that it had ordered the military to reduce “collateral damage,” meaning casualties among the civilian population.
“While calls for a ceasefire are welcome, it is not that easy to implement,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a radio interview.
Bunye added: “Justice has to be served first ... We cannot allow lawless elements to simply walk away from what they have done. This will only invite more terrorism and crime.”
He said the decision to stop fighting was in the hands of officers on the ground.
