Fierce fighting broke out when government forces encountered 20 Abu Sayyaf bandits in Barangay Pansul at 8:30 Friday morning, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Command (SouthCom) chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza said.
He said the elements of the Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) 5 were on combat and clearing patrol as part of the alert mission when the soldiers encountered the followers of Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron alias Commander Putol.
A 15-minute firefight ensued "before the Abu Sayyaf withdrew, dragging (with them) about four Abu Sayyaf casualties" believed killed in the clash, Braganza said.
The Southcom has been on high alert as government agencies spearheaded by the provincial government under the "Tabang Sulu" (Help Sulu) program implement a rehabilitation and development project in the area, he said.
"Our troops are protecting the gains for the welfare of the civilians who are longing for the development program to lift them from poverty," Braganza said.
He said security in Sulu had remained stable after the Abu Sayyaf and the Misuari breakaway group were flushed out of their camps. Sulu is a major conflict area in Mindanao, where the military has repeatedly clashed with Muslim secessionist groups and the Abu Sayyaf.
Mrs. Arroyo said the nation was watching the police assault closely on television and she could not see how a summary execution could have taken place under such close scrutiny.
"I do not know if any of you could imagine how (he) could have been salvaged when nobody could enter before the offense started… and everybody was watching," the President said in Sagada, Mountain Province.
"Nonetheless, whenever there is an allegation, we have to have it investigated. So we are instructing the investigating agencies to look into this allegation," she said.
The President lauded authorities for their successful handling of the incident at Camp Bagong Diwa, even as she ordered an investigation to determine who should be held liable for security lapses in the maximum-security jail in Bicutan, Taguig.
Various sectors have accused the police strike team that ended the siege of summarily executing Andang even before they stormed Camp Bagong Diwa to flush out suspected Abu Sayyaf members who had seized control of the jail when their attempted jailbreak failed.
Several Muslim inmates, including Abu Sayyaf leaders Alhamsar Manatad Limbong, alias Commander Kosovo, and Nadsmi Sabdullah, alias Commander Global, joined Andang in fighting off the police and military assault after a 30-hour standoff.
The President said the authorities had exhausted all means to gain the surrender of the jailbreak leaders, but eventually had no choice but to storm the jail. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the terrorists knew what was coming after the bloody siege.
When the siege began, several detainees killed three jail guards in attempting a jailbreak. They then reportedly took other inmates hostage and used them as negotiating chips. At the end of the siege the death toll climbed much higher: 22 Muslim inmates, including Andang, Limbong and Sabdullah and a policeman, were killed during the ensuing firefight.
The four-day fact-finding and mercy mission was conducted by cause-oriented groups deputized by Bayan party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo, who chairs the House special committee on peace, reconciliation and unity.
Dubbed Kalinaw Mindanao (Peace in Mindanao), the investigation from March 17 to 21 saw the participation of the groups Karapatan, the Moro Christian People’s Alliance, InPeace Mindanao, Bayan, Bayan Muna, Health Action for Human Rights and others.
The groups belied reports by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that most civilians had returned to their homes despite the fighting. They said their findings show there were still civilians who have not returned home — even some civilians displaced by previous military operations in 2001 and 2002.
Karapatan secretary-general Marine Hilao Enriquez also charged the military with committing various human rights violations during its operations in Sulu.
She said President Arroyo’s continuous "total war policy" against the Muslim rebels is "but a part of its campaign against the so-called terrorists (and) blind obedience to the US war of terror."
According to them, the government has lumped the Muslim secessionists’ legitimate struggle for self-determination in with "terrorist acts."
The fact-finding mission recommended that military operations in Sulu be stopped immediately and that troops be pulled out of Sulu. It also recommended peace talks for all concerned parties, as well as an in-depth and independent investigation of the conflict there.
Kalinaw Mindanao also recommended that civilian victims be indemnified, that displaced civilians be allowed to return to their homes and that their property and livelihood be restored.