ZAMBOANGA CITY, 17 July 2005 — A Philippine Air Force helicopter transporting troops came under fire after it flew inside a separatist-controlled zone in the southern province of Maguindanao, officials said yesterday.
One soldier was wounded in the attack late Friday afternoon after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces opened fire on a UH1H “Huey” chopper in Talayan town, said separatist spokesman Eid Kabalu.
A military official said two choppers were attacked as they ferried combat troops pursuing members of the Abu Sayyaf, linked by Western intelligence agencies to the Al-Qaeda network.
Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla, spokesman for the Philippine Air Force, said one of the choppers was partially damaged, but it safely returned to base in Awang town in Maguindanao province.
The gunfire “came from the MILF positions” and not those of Abu Sayyaf, Padilla added.
He said the military leadership had alerted the government’s peace negotiating panel about the cease-fire violation.
Kabalu said the military ignored a policy adopted by both sides to avoid entering each other’s territory without permission, to avoid clashes.
“We warned the military not to encroach the area without coordination from the MILF because it is a known rebel stronghold, but security officials ignored us. They tried to land the chopper, but the aircraft came under fire from rebel forces in the area,” he told Arab News.
He said three soldiers and a rebel were also killed Thursday after military forces hunting down Abu Sayyaf gunmen broke into an MILF base near Talayan town, triggering a gunbattle.
But Kabalu was quick to say that the skirmishes were isolated and would not affect the peace talks between the MILF and the Philippine government. “These clashes are isolated and would not affect the peace process,” he said.
Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF, the largest Muslim separatist rebel group in the country, in an effort to end more than three decades of hostilities.
The MILF has vowed to help the government run after terrorists and ordered its forces to arrest suspected JI and Abu Sayyaf members in the south. Among those being hunted by the MILF are two Jemaah Islamiyah members blamed for the deadly Bali bombings three years ago.
It said it is closely coordinating with the government authorities in the hunt for Pitono, also known as Dulmatin, and Umar Patek, a principal suspect in the twin bombings on the Indonesian resort island that killed more than 200 mostly foreign tourists.
The Jemaah Islamiyah is believed to have formed links with the Abu Sayyaf up to five years ago.
MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim has repeatedly denounced terrorism and vowed to cooperate with Manila to protect the peace talks. “Terrorism has no place in us and sincere cooperation between the MILF and the government is needed to protect the peace talks. We denounce terrorism and violence,” he said.
Malaysia, an influential member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, is mediating the peace talks and has sent a team of observers to monitor the three-year-old truce between the military and the rebels.
