Military airlifts 3 Moro guerrillas wounded in clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The military airlifted three wounded combatants of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) from Tungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay to the Zamboanga Medical Center here for treatment, a military official said yesterday.

All three were casualties of a chance encounter between MILF and government forces in Barangay Kapuyan last Sunday.

"We have airlifted three of their wounded combatants as our gesture and commitment to the ceasefire," said Maj. Gen. Triponio Salazar, chief of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division.

The encounter in Tungawan occurred as Malaysian peace monitors arrived in town for consultations.

The military described the visit of the Malaysian team as successful despite the encounter which both the military and the MILF described as "isolated."

Salazar said the Malaysian team met with some MILF leaders in Tungawan who pledged support for the peace initiative.