MILF kills 14 Marines
CAMPO UNO, Basilan – Fourteen Marines searching for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi were killed, with four of them beheaded, in an encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas in a remote village in Basilan, the military said yesterday.
Nine other soldiers were injured while six remained missing after the eight-hour clash Tuesday near Tipo-Tipo town, a known hideout of the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF.
Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan said the troops under the 8th Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) had been dispatched to one of the villages in Tipo-Tipo to check reports that Bossi had been sighted with his captors there.
The troops, however, ran into about 300 armed men composed of MILF rebels backed by Abu Sayyaf militants, triggering the firefight.
Caculitan said the fate of the missing Marines remained unknown.
“They may be alive, they may be dead. They remain to be accounted for,” he said.
The headless bodies of the four soldiers were recovered early yesterday by authorities in Basilan and turned over to the military.
Four Marines were initially reported to have been killed in the firefight while 10 others were missing, until their bodies were found yesterday.
A ranking Abu Sayyaf leader was injured and his son was among those killed in the encounter.
Initial reports said Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon – who has a $5-million bounty on his head – was among those wounded but his still unidentified son was killed after being hit in the face during the firefight with the Marines.
Caculitan said some 50 soldiers were on their way back when they were ambushed.
“They were about to return from operations to verify reports that Fr. Bossi is in Basilan when they were ambushed,” he said.
The Marines initially encountered the gunmen who were believed to be Abu Sayyaf.
The bandits then fled to nearby Albarka town, prompting the soldiers to follow.
According to Col. Ramiro Alivio, commander of the 1st Marine Brigade here, the troops were led by the Abu Sayyaf into the MILF lair.
“The Marines were stuck in a low ground position and were attacked by the combined Abu Sayyaf and lawless elements in the area,” Alivio said.
Alivio added troops responding to the scene of the clash also encountered additional rebel forces in the area, further escalating the firefight.
Caculitan, for his part, said they have not received official information that MILF guerrillas were behind the ambush.
If indeed the MILF is involved, Caculitan said they would bring the issue before the Joint Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (JCCH) for investigation.
The JCCH is composed of representatives from the government peace negotiating panel and the MILF.
Intrusion
The MILF, for its part, admitted they were behind the attack.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu claimed the Marines had entered an identified MILF area near Tipo-Tipo, triggering the firefight.
Kabalu also denied that Abu Sayyaf supported the MILF guerrillas during the clash, stressing the MILF had long cut links to the bandit group, which is known for mutilating its victims.
“The firefight was touched off because they entered our area without first coordinating with the MILF leadership as agreed upon in the peace talks,” Kabalu said.
“This is their fault because they intruded into our territory and our forces were alarmed and had to defend their positions,” he said.
The provocation, Kabalu said, was a clear violation of a 2003 truce and would be brought up before the JCCH.
“The MILF is not involved in the Bossi kidnapping. This we say loud and clear,” Kabalu said.
Muhaquer Iqbal, chairman of the MILF’s peace panel, also claimed their fighters were forced to counterattack after the Marines intruded into their enclave without prior coordination.
Iqbal said their forces were not responsible for the beheadings, adding he would investigate.
Iqbal said the MILF is coordinating with its government counterparts in the ceasefire committee, which is set to travel to Basilan today.
Iqbal ruled out the Abu Sayyaf had sought refuge in the MILF stronghold, and criticized government forces for failing to follow procedures in the ceasefire agreement.
“It cannot be mistaken encounter because it was a deliberate act on the part of the Marines that entered the area, knowing that the area is a bailiwick of the MILF, in complete violation of the ceasefire,” he said.
On the other hand, Maj. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea, chairman of the government panel for the JCCH, said they are investigating the incident.
“Efforts are now being done to gather correct information on what had really happened there,” Gurrea said.
Gurrea said Malaysian Maj. Gen. Ismail Khan, head of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), will head the investigation into the incident.
“All Gen. Ismail is waiting for is clearance from the Malaysian government to enable his group to help gather information, right on the ground, to determine what had really happened there,” Gurrea said.
Gurrea stressed the important role of the IMT as “third party observer” in the conduct of investigations by the JCCH.
The IMT, led by
Malacañang, for its part, remained restrained in its response, merely saying the government would raise the incident before the JCCH and the IMT.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said despite a careful approach to be taken by the government peace panel, this will not prevent troops from pursuing the MILF rebels.
According to Ermita, President Arroyo expressed dismay over the incident but he did not elaborate.
He pointed out other remedies available in the ceasefire agreement, including the Coordinating Committees for the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), that could help settle the matter.
“We will let the ceasefire (mechanism) take its role. We have the CCCH, AHJAG, the IMT, and we have the (government) negotiating panel. We will work through that,” Ermita said.
“But that does not prevent them (government troops) from pursuing the enemy, so now they are on active military operation to run after them,” he said.
Ermita condemned the beheading of the four Marines, describing it as barbaric.
He expressed optimism however that the peace process would still hold despite the incident.
“I would think that we are on a very good footing… and I think the MILF would not allow the peace process to explode just because of the action (of some of its members) in Basilan,” Ermita said.
Outside the coverage area
Gurrea, for his part, lamented Basilan is not covered by the ceasefire agreement which presents another problem in the peace negotiations with the MILF.
“The TOR (terms of reference) for the GRP and MILF’s ceasefire committee covers Basilan, but the TOR for the operation of the IMT does not include the province among the areas where its members can operate and monitor the ceasefire,” Gurrea explained.
Gurrea said GRP chief negotiator Rodolfo Garcia has tasked the GRP’s ceasefire committee to mobilize its members in Basilan to investigate the incident.
Initial reports said the firefight erupted past
There were reports that the slain soldiers were even robbed of their personal belongings.
A Yakan Islamic missionary working in a line agency of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) claimed the MILF and Abu Sayyaf were behind the ambush.
The missionary echoed the claims made by Alivio that the soldiers were drawn into an ambush by the Abu Sayyaf.
“There was so much treachery in the ambush because it was perpetrated deep inside MILF territory. There are indications that the unsuspecting Marines were allowed to go deeper inside the camp first before they were attacked and killed like wild animals,” said the missionary.
Troops have been sent to Basilan on reports that Bossi had been brought to the province by his kidnappers.
Officials have issued conflicting statements on the identity of the groups which might have kidnapped Bossi, a 57-year-old missionary from
Authorities initially blamed renegade MILF commander Akkidin Abdusalam alias Kumander Kiddie for the kidnapping, but the group denied any role in the abduction and deployed forces in the initial weeks after the abduction to help government troops search for Bossi.
From Payao, Kiddie, through his brother Maeng Abdusalam, reportedly rented a pump boat owned by a certain Mustafah Abdullah for P150 and immediately brought Bossi across Tungawan, briefly passing by Lingisan island.
The pump boat was later recovered by government agents in the coastal town of
“We have reports that Fr. Bossi is being kept in Basilan and this report was further validated by the heavy fighting last Tuesday,” said a military official who is working behind the scenes to obtain the safe release of the Italian priest.
A group of negotiators engaged in backdoor talks with an emissary sent by the supposed kidnappers, however, feared the ongoing military operations in Basilan will delay the safe release of Bossi.
If ever Bossi is being kept in Tipo-Tipo town, his abductors could have already transferred him to a “safer” area, they said.
“At this time, they’re no longer there (kidnappers). This would again take us sometime before we could establish contact with their designated emissary,” said the official. – With John Unson, James Mananghaya, Paolo Romero, Jaime Laude, Christina Mendez, AP, AFP
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