2 MILF men in ambush yield

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) wanted for the ambush of Marines have surrendered but denied involvement in the beheading and mutilation of 10 of the soldiers.

Suspects Nasiri Awwari and Jul Sappii, who were disowned by the MILF, are in the custody of two town mayors. They confirmed allegations by local officials that four Abu Sayyaf members were responsible for the beheading and mutilations, and have reportedly offered to turn state witnesses.

The two turned over an M203 grenade launcher reportedly taken from one of the slain Marines. The two mayors declined to be named for security reasons.

The 10 beheaded Marines were among the 14 soldiers killed in the firefight with MILF guerrillas in Basilan last July 10.

The soldiers were returning to their base after searching for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi when waylaid by MILF guerrillas in Tipo-Tipo. The beheadings took place in the nearby Albarka town. Bossi has since been released.

The MILF leadership admitted that its men ambushed the soldiers but denied responsibility for the beheadings, which sparked public outrage as well as calls for an all-out offensive against the separatist group.

Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea, head of the government panel for the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostility (CCCH), said he was not aware if the two had indeed surrendered.

“They were just presented to us by the locals who informed us that they have voluntarily stepped out to stand as witnesses,” Gurrea said.

The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) confirmed the surrender of the two.

But Basilan Provincial Police director Senior Supt. Salik Macapantar claimed no knowledge of the surrender and declined to comment on the issue. He said his men would continue to try to serve the warrants of arrest on the 130 suspects.

“Our search for those in the list continues and there have been no changes so far,” Macapantar said.

Sattar Alih, the MILF Basilan representative in the ceasefire, said Awwari had long been dismissed for banditry while Sapii is a younger brother of one of the ambushers and is not a member of any rebel group.

Sources said it was the two who squealed on the four Abu Sayyaf members Umair Indama, Nurhasan Jamiri, Buhari Jamiri and Suaib Kalibon.

The four were the same suspects named in the report of an independent body formed to look into the killings. The report said 10 others acted as lookouts while the four were torturing and beheading the Marines.

Government and MILF representatives sit in the fact-finding body. Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar also named the four in a privilege speech recently.

Gurrea said that of the four, only Nurhassan Jamiri had a warrant of arrest for the beheadings. He said the Justice department might have to review the list of the suspects using the report of the fact-finding team as guide.

With the forging of a peace pact between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996, the MILF emerged as the biggest separatist movement in the country. The Abu Sayyaf – based mostly in Basilan and Sulu – is also fighting for a separate Islamic state in Mindanao, but it is more widely known as a terrorist group responsible for most of the abductions and killings of Christian missionaries and foreigners in Mindanao.

The MILF defended its July 10 operations against the Marines, saying the government troops intruded into its “territory.” The MILF operates mainly in Central Mindanao.

Enraged by the killings, the military threatened to launch a major offensive or “punitive action” against the MILF if the rebel group failed to turn over the suspects in the beheadings.

The military later decided to hold off its offensive to allow local authorities to serve the warrants of arrest. Police found the town of Albarka deserted when they tried to serve the warrants the first time early this week.