17 MILF rebels, one soldier killed in fresh fighting in North Cotabato

By Ronron
March 6, 2007

Seventeen armed fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a government soldier were killed, while two other soldiers were wounded in the latest encounter between the secessionist group and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in North Cotabato province starting Monday night until yesterday (Tuesday) morning, a military spokesman said.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said in a phone interview Tuesday that the heavy fighting started at 10 pm the other day (Monday) after some 300 elements of the MILF 105th Base Command “harassed” the two detachments of the Philippine Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion in Midsayap town.

Ando identified the attacked detachments as that of the 40th IB’s Bravo Company in Barangay Lumupog, and the Charlie Company in Barangay Lower Kadigasan. Each was being manned at the time of the attack by at least 20 soldiers.

The Moslem rebels were reportedly under the command of Amelil Umbra Kato, who allegedly continues to defy the top leadership of the MILF as regards peace negotiations with the government.

“We can’t understand what they want. Maybe they want to prove that they are still a force to reckon with. Or they want to control the area so that they can continue with their revolutionary taxation collection,” Ando said in Filipino when asked of the motive of the attack.

Ando revealed the Moslem rebels used mortars, M203 grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, M16 rifles and Caliber 60 machine guns during the attack.

“Our AFP troops fought back despite being outnumbered. They managed to retaliate using M203 also and M16 rifles,” Ando said.

He said the fighting lasted until past 7am yesterday (Tuesday) after the rebels started withdrawing towards Datu Piang town.

But at 10 am, the military deployed two SF260 Machete planes that peppered rockets on the rebels’ position.

A scouring of the encounter site later in the day resulted in the recovery of 17 dead bodies of suspected MILF rebels and 18 high-powered firearms, said Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarrro, AFP Public Information Officer.

“Definitely, this is a violation (of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the MILF). Massing of large number of forces is even already a violation,” Ando said.

“We will file a complaint before the CCCH (Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities of the GRP-MILF),” he added. “We still continue to support the ceasefire and respect the primacy of the peace process.”

“We hope this problem will be settled by the CCCH,” Ando said.

The Manila Shimbun tried to get the MILF’s version of the incident but the mobile phones of MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal could not be reached.

The MILF and government troops last fought in the last week of January over some farm products in another village in Midsayap./DMS