AFP resumes operations against ASG-JI in Sulu

By Ronron
February 5, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) resumed on Monday its operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jeemah Islamiyah (JI) in Sulu after it was postponed on Sunday to prevent the crisis between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) from getting worse.

In a phone interview, AFP Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said the military decided to stop its operations for a day as the MNLF held Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, Undersecretary Ramon Santos, and other officials inside its camp in Panamao, Sulu.

“We don’t want to complicate that incident (alleged hostage-taking) with our operations. But that (suspension of operations) was only for yesterday (Sunday). We resumed already today,” Cedo told Camp Aguinaldo reporters yesterday.

The party of Dolorfino went to the MNLF camp in Bitan-ag Complex on Friday morning primarily to hold talks about the alleged misencounter between government troops and MNLF fighters last January 18 in Patikul town, which the military claimed was an operation against the ASG.

The AFP, in fact, said the nine killed rebels belong to the ASG, and reiterated the same when an MILF official said otherwise later.

But Cedo yesterday admitted that indeed those killed were MNLF members, as claimed by the leadership of the group. “Actually, they (slain rebels) were mistaken to be ASG members,” he said.

The issue was already resolved during Dolorfino and Santos’ meeting with the MNLF over the weekend.

Cedo said government soldiers went back to the fields of Sulu yesterday so as not to waste the chance of catching the ASG and JI operatives.

Since the AFP launched its Operation Plan (OPLAN) Ultimatum last August 1, 2006, it has already neutralized key ASG leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Jainal Antel Sali, Jr., alias Abu Solaiman./DMS