Gunmen ambush soldiers securing UN reps; 2 dead

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines —  Two soldiers were killed while 12 others were wounded when gunmen ambushed Army troopers securing representatives of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Sumisip, Basilan on Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities expressed belief the assailants belonged to a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Reports said that members of the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion were traveling near Barangay Lower Cabengbeng when the assailants assaulted them.

The military said the troopers retaliated, triggering a brief encounter that resulted in the death of two soldiers and wounding of 12 others.

Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, chief of the Army’s 101st Brigade, said the troopers were part of a security team tasked to protect visiting representatives of the UNDP.

“All representatives of the UNDP were safe. They were not in the area when the attack occurred,” Luzon said.

The UN workers earlier discussed with community leaders developmental projects under the normalization track of the peace agreement entered into by the government and the MILF.

Luzon said the wounded soldiers were taken to the Western Mindanao Command Hospital in Zamboanga City for treatment.

Luzon declined to link any group to the attack, but local authorities said a faction of the MILF was behind the ambush.

UN Resident Coordinator and humanitarian coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of lives.

“I strongly condemn the ambush,” Gonzalez said in a statement, as he expressed the UN’s sympathies with the victims and their families.

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez also condemned the attack, which was deemed as a violation of ceasefire agreement signed between the government and the MILF.

Basilan Gov. Jim Hataman-Salliman said the ambush was intended to destroy the peace and order in the province, which was recently declared free from Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Salliman urged his constituents to remain vigilant. He assured them that the situation is under control. –  Emmanuel Tupas, John Unson