ZAMBOANGA CITY, 11 November 2005 — Gunmen yesterday attacked government peace negotiators headed for a meeting with their counterparts from the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the southern Philippines, officials said.
One soldier escorting the team was wounded in the ensuing gunbattle in the town of Pualas in Lanao del Sur province, said Brig. Gen. Mohamad bin Dolorfino, head of the government’s ad hoc joint action group.
“One soldier was slightly wounded in the firefight,” he told Arab News.
The government negotiators were on a van and cruising along the highway in Pualas when the gunmen on board a private car overtook them and tried to stop them.
“The gunmen opened fire on the soldiers, triggering a gunbattle,” Dolorfino said.
Dolorfino said the gunmen retreated later.
MILF and government officials rushed to the farming town to defuse tension and prevent a possible escalation.
Dolorfino said they were investigating the motive of the attack, but latest military reports suggested the soldiers had been mistaken for a town mayor in the province, who previously owned the van.
The mayor was allegedly involved in a blood feud with the attackers, the report said. Dolorfino said it was found out that the vehicle was recently sold by the politician to the soldiers. He said some of the attackers have already been identified.
Dolorfino said the MILF has nothing to do with the attack, but the town is a known rebel stronghold in the south. President Gloria Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and later signed a cease-fire agreement, in an effort to end hostilities in the south.
The MILF is fighting for a separate Muslim homeland in the mineral-rich, but troubled region. (Additional input from Reuters)
