ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines, 27 February 2005 — Relief goods started pouring into the troubled southern island of Jolo yesterday after government troops reached an informal truce with followers of jailed Muslim leader Nur Misuari.
Ben Loong, the governor of Sulu province to which Jolo belongs, told government officials he helped broker the agreement with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Habier Malik, who led about 300 MNLF fighters in attacks on military outposts on Feb. 6.
Days of fighting claimed the lives of 25 soldiers and about 70 rebels. More than 27,000 people were reported to have fled their homes amid the violence.
Although Malik’s base in the jungles outside Panamao town had been captured and his forces dispersed, the fugitive religious leader remains in hiding with many of his armed followers still at large.
Loong said he was able to contact Malik, with both sides agreeing to refrain from attacking each other.
The governor said he then spoke to an unnamed military officer who told him that “we will not go there (to Malik’s hideout) as long as they don’t attack.”
“We cannot say it’s a cease-fire but we call it a gentleman’s talk between the armed forces and the MNLF,” Loong said.
He said Abu Sayyaf extremists “are a different story from the MNLF,” recalling that both Washington and Manila had linked the group to the Al-Qaeda terror network.
“We cannot blame the military if they are still having their military offensive... because there are so many Abu Sayyaf (members) who are being pursued by the soldiers,” he said.
Apart from freeing government troops to to help go after Abu Sayyaf extremists, who are largely based in the towns of Patikul and Indanan, the truce also allowed the distribution of relief goods to evacuees.
An air force C130 transport plane unloaded yesterday a cargo of food and medicines for hundreds of refugees in Jolo, and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman was personally supervising relief operations.
Jolo military chief Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala accompanied Soliman in inspecting refugees camps in Indanan town, scene of recent clashes between security and Abu Sayyaf forces. “Hundreds of refugees were given food and medicines and we expect more help to arrive in the coming days,” Dema-ala told Arab News.
Governor Loong told Secretary Soliman and Sen. Richard Gordon there had been no fresh fighting since soldiers overran an Abu Sayyaf camp in the jungles outside of Indanan on Thursday, killing about 10 rebels.
The government has been cracking down on the Abu Sayyaf after a spokesman of the group claimed responsibility for near-simultaneous bombings in Manila and the southern cities of General Santos and Davao on Feb. 14, which killed as many as 12 people and injured some 100 others.
The Abu Sayyaf said the Feb, 14 bombings were in retaliation for the attacks on Malik’s forces.
However, officials say Malik and other MNLF commanders have kept their distance from the Abu Sayyaf even though some of the lower ranking fighters have mixed loyalties.
The Abu Sayyaf is known mainly for kidnapping-for-ransom and bombing attacks against Christians and foreigners in the Philippines and their show of sympathy for the MNLF fighters has largely been considered as an attempt to make political gain from the fighting.
The Abu Sayyaf has also been blamed for the bombing of a ferry in Manila Bay last year that led to more than 100 deaths — the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history. The United States government has offered as much as $5 million for the arrest of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and several other leaders. Manila also doubled its reward from five million to ten million pesos for their capture, dead or alive. (Additional input from agencies)
