Army troopers held briefly by MILF men in Lanao del Sur

By Ronron
March 12, 2007

Sixteen members of the Philippine Army were held briefly by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters on Sunday in Lanao del Sur province.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, commander of the Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) and co-chairman of the Ad-Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) of the government and the MILF, said Monday that the incident happened as the Army troopers were out to respond to an operation by the MILF against a lawless group headed by Lanao’s public enemy number one, Dimaporo Masacal, alias Delta Force.

Dolorfino said the MILF, which is not supposed to operate against lawless elements, was “over-zealous” that it initiated an operation against Masacal in Barangay Taluan, Lumba-Bayabao town at around 3pm.

Upon learning of the incident, elements of the Army’s 103rd Brigade, based in Marawi City, were sent to the encounter site.

While on the way to the site, the government troops found seven armed MILF rebels along the road also in Barangay Taluan. Thinking that they were lawless elements, Dolorfino said the Army soldiers disarmed the seven. The incident happened at around 4pm.

Upon learning of the incident, the head of the MILF team operating against Masacal, Commander Mercury, sent reinforcement troops, outnumbering the 16-man Army team. The 16 were then disarmed.

With the interception of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), the AHJAG in Lanao, and the International Monitoring Team (IMT), Dolorfino said the incident was then “resolved peacefully” at around 6:30 pm.

Dolorfino said the clash between the MILF and Masacal’s group left two of the latter’s fighters dead. Masacal, who is allegedly wanted for multiple murder case, eluded arrest.

Dolorfino pointed out that the MILF is not authorized to operate against lawless groups, but should only serve as “blocking force” during operations of the Philippine National Police and the AFP.

The matter was already brought up between the negotiating parties of the MILF and the government to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Peace talks between the MILF and the Philippine government is yet to resume after it had an impasse last year over disagreements on the ancestral domain issue./DMS