ZAMBOANGA CITY, 7 March 2007— At least 18 people were reported killed in the latest clash between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters in the southern Philippines, and both sides accused each other of firing first.
Officials from both camps said fighting erupted Monday night in Midsayap town of North Cotabato province, 890 kilometers (550 miles) south of Manila, and continued until yesterday morning.
At least 17 rebels and one soldier were killed, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division. He said three other soldiers were wounded. Ando said about 300 rebels simultaneously attacked two military detachments with rocket-propelled grenades and 81 mm mortars, provoking the gunbattle.
“The MILF violated the truce. They harassed our troops without provocation. We have filed a protest with the government peace panel about this attack,” Ando told Arab News.
He said MILF leader Amiril Umbra Kato was behind the attack.
The MILF admitted losing only one fighter and said the fighting broke out after army troops encroached inside rebel territories in the village of Lomobog and Cabigasan.
“They encroached into our areas in violation of the cease-fire agreement. We have also filed a protest and called on the international truce observers to investigate,” MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said in a separate interview.
He said government planes bombed MILF targets but succeeded only in terrorizing villagers. “Muslim villagers are fleeing; hundreds of them have abandoned their homes because of the military offensive,” Kabalu said.
Von al Haq, the MILF chief representative on a joint cease-fire committee, denied the military’s that 17 rebels were killed. A local reporter at the site saw bodies being gathered by the roadside in Sambolawan village, next to rebel-controlled Lumupog, where the fighting took place.
Al Haq said the bodies by the road were probably those of army troops.
Al Haq said the military positions were nowhere near Lumupog, disputing the army’s claim that the guerrillas attacked their outposts. It wasn’t immediately clear where the military positions were.
“I already filed a protest before my counterpart when the soldiers stayed on after securing the US troops on Saturday, asking them to reposition the troops,” Al Haq told The Associated Press. “But nothing was done.” He said both sides were discussing how to separate the combatants.
About 7,500 frightened residents from at least 10 villages fled their homes, many trapped along an unpaved highway that the military closed to traffic early yesterday, according to members of Bantay Cease-fire, a civilian group monitoring the truce.
Some residents started fleeing their homes late last week, frightened by the arrival of tanks and soldiers moving into several villages that were abandoned by the MILF, said Rexall Kaalim, the group’s coordinator.
Ando denied there was a buildup of troops.
The MILF, which has been fighting for self-rule in the southern region of Mindanao, has an estimated 11,000 fighters, some in rebel strongholds in Cotabato province, where Midsayap is located.
The government and the rebels have been engaged in Malaysian-brokered peace talks. (With a report by the Associated Press)
