AFP: Up to 80 bandits killed

MANILA, Philippines - Up to 80 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have been killed in clashes with soldiers last week even as a lull in fighting is expected for a few weeks as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, the military said yesterday.

But Maj. Gen. Romeo Gapuz, chief of the 6th Infantry Division whose soldiers had engaged BIFF fighters in a firefight from Thursday to Saturday last week, said his men saw only 18 bodies of the dead bandits.

“We cannot just retrieve the bodies because that is against their customs and tradition,” Gapuz said, noting that Muslims bury their dead immediately or within 24 hours after death.

“On our part we have six killed – one officer and five enlisted personnel – and we have two wounded in action,” he added.

The Army casualty – a lieutenant – died in a landmine explosion last Saturday in Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Maguindanao. Landmines are prohibited under international law.

Last week’s violence erupted as the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) prepared to resume peace talks in Malaysia.

“The BIFF is hell-bent on derailing the peace talks by launching simultaneous attacks against civilian and military installations,” Gapuz said.

The BIFF broke away from the MILF in 2011 due to policy and ideological differences.The BIFF has vowed to sabotage the peace process between the government and the MILF and to fight for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.

Army reports said the BIFF had launched sporadic attacks on civilian communities and military detachments since last month.

Last June 19, the BIFF attacked civilians in Barangay Bagumbayan in President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat, killing a farmer and a militiaman.

On the same day in the same community, BIFF gunmen led by a certain Uztads Zukarno Sapal also attacked a patrol base of the 33rd Infantry Battalion.

The BIFF also launched a series of attacks during the Ramadan last year.

Gapuz said they have called off their operations in the meantime in deference to the Ramadan.

“The only clearance given to us by the joint (government-MILF) panel is three days to conduct the law enforcement operations, so we have to abide by that because we do not want to derail the peace process,” he said.

Gapuz, nevertheless, said his men were prepared to thwart any attack from the BIFF or help those being attacked by the gunmen.

“When it is happening in plain view, it is not proper for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police not to react,” he said.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Division, said the area where the clashes had taken place was now quiet.

“They (BIFF) are now scattered. Perhaps they are dizzy because of the encounter so it’s quiet now,” he said.

“They are making their presence felt because they were left out in the talks and they were declared lawless elements by the MILF,” he said.

Hermoso said operations were conducted in Barangay Ganta in Shariff Saydona Mustapha town and Barangay Damablas in Datu Piang, both in Maguindanao.

“These are their strongholds. They no longer have a base because we captured Camp Omar in 2012 so they converge in the two barangays,” he said.

Last Saturday, BIFF fighters set off a roadside bomb as a military truck drove past in Datu Piang, killing Army 1Lt. Gerardo Flores and two of his men, officials said.

An Army unit based nearby killed three of the BIFF rebels in a subsequent firefight, the military said.

An undetermined number of BIFF guerrillas attacked an Army detachment in Pikit, North Cotabato, killing Privates First Class Megan Bello and Jonathan Mores, who both belonged to the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion.

BIFF forces also attacked two detachments of the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion in Midsayap, North Cotabato.

The rebels reportedly used sniper rifles in attacking farmers in Barangay Kabingi in Datu Saudi in Maguindanao for refusing to give them protection money on a regular basis.

Hermoso said they would continue to remain vigilant to stave off atrocities by BIFF men and to ensure a peaceful commemoration of the Ramadan.

Meanwhile, the government peace panel is confident that the joint Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) can effectively address complications spawned by the attacks staged by the BIFF.

Government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer also said they hope to resolve the remaining issues on wealth sharing in their formal talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“With regard to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters attacks, we are confident that our security mechanisms including the CCCH and AHJAG can effectively address these incidents to prevent the escalation of violence,” Ferrer said.

“We hope that in this round, we will be able to settle the remaining issues on wealth-sharing and continue discussions on power sharing and normalization,” Ferrer said. With Jose Rodel Clapano