ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The number of soldiers confirmed killed increased to 19 while 12 others were reported wounded following an attack by suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas in Al-Barka, Basilan.
Officials yesterday said the bodies of six of the other soldiers who were reported missing have been recovered. Two other soldiers are being held captive by the rebels.
The local monitoring team led by Basilan Vice Gov. Al-Rasheed Sakalahul recovered the bodies of the six slain soldiers.
Initial reports said 11 of the attackers were killed and several others were wounded during the fighting that erupted Tuesday in the dense jungle in Sitio Bakisung, Barangay Cambug in Al-Barka town.
The gunmen were led by Dan Laksaw Asnawi, said to be a deputy commander of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces’ “114th Base Command,” who is wanted for killing and beheading 14 Marines in Al-Barka in 2007.
Asnawi was captured but was sprung from the Basilan Provincial Jail in December 2009 by Long Malat, supposedly a rogue MILF commander, and his men supported by 30 Abu Sayyaf militants.
Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) spokesman Lt. Col. Randolf Cabangbang said the gunfight lasted for nine hours before the rebels withdrew.
Cabangbang said the rebels took several of the soldiers hostage.
“The information is not yet clear as to their condition, but the reports disclosed that the six soldiers who were among those reported missing are in the custody of the MILF group which they encountered,” Cabangbang said.
Sakalahul was negotiating for the release of the two soldiers who are in the custody of the rebels.
The recovery of the remains of the six soldiers and the two hostages confirmed only eight soldiers were missing in action during the encounter.
A source, who was among the team of Sakalahul, claimed the remains of the six soldiers had already started to decompose.
During the visit, a commotion erupted as the wife of one of the rebels killed in the encounter Tuesday began hacking the remains of the soldiers, blaming them for the death of her husband, the source said.
Sakalahul said the deployment of more troops, backed by helicopters and armored vehicles, had forced residents to flee their homes and farms.
“They fear getting caught in the crossfire if another encounter erupts,” Sakalahul said.
The provincial office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said at least 860 families or 3,400 individuals were evacuated in at least seven barangays in Al-Barka that were affected by the fighting.
Strayed
MILF spokesman Von al Haq said five guerrillas were killed in the clashes, which he claimed occurred after government troops strayed into rebel territory in violation of a ceasefire.
“We have yet to receive information from our forces on the ground that they are holding the soldiers,” he said when asked about the fate of the missing troops.
But if the rebels were holding the soldiers, the troops would be released, al Haq said.
Al Haq claimed government troops provoked the fighting by attacking the rebels in their Al-Barka stronghold in violation of the existing ceasefire. Army troops shelled the rebel stronghold after the initial clash, trapping villagers in the fighting, he said.
Cabangbang, however, said troops were deployed to check reports by villagers that a group of gunmen known to be holding kidnap victims had strayed in areas close to their communities.
He said the troops did not intrude on the guerrilla stronghold, and were about four kilometers from it when they were fired upon by the MILF rebels, prompting the troops to fire back, he said.
Under ceasefire rules, government troops should notify the MILF first if they want to venture into guerrilla strongholds in search of criminals to prevent accidental clashes.
Cabangbang yesterday said the clashes had stopped and the military had asked a joint government-rebel ceasefire committee to allow troops to search for the missing soldiers in the rebels’ Al-Barka stronghold.
“Right now we are closely monitoring with (the joint ceasefire committee), we have received reports allegedly our soldiers are being held hostage within the area of MILF in Al-Barka,” Cabangbang said.
Cabangbang said sources also disclosed that the MILF have already acknowledged that they know the whereabouts of some – not 10 – soldiers and the MILF were willing to assist the military.
“But they are not saying kung ilan (how many),” he added.
Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos said they have protested the capture of the soldiers.
“We are exhausting two measures, one through the peace mechanism and another through security operations to recover them,” Burgos told reporters.
Burgos said the military could not run after the perpetrators in areas considered to be MILF territories.
“We cannot intrude into the area where they (MILF) stay. We can only conduct limited pursuit operations,” Burgos said.
“We have to exercise restraint and we have to observe the (MILF) area of temporary stay (ATS) as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement,” he added.
A source earlier revealed eight of the missing soldiers have already been accounted for but are still in rebel hands. “We don’t know what happened to the two others,” the source said.
Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz confirmed the six soldiers have been killed by their abductors.
“The six that were reported captured by the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Long Malat after being disarmed and turned over to the MILF were murdered whose bodies were recovered this afternoon (yesterday) at barangay Bakisung in Al Barka,” he said.
Al Haq, however, said rebels from his group have reported they are not holding any captives. Several soldiers apparently fled during the clash into nearby communities, he said.
“Our men have been ordered not to advance or attack unless they come under attack,” Al Haq said. “Hopefully we can diffuse this with the other side.”
Malaysian-led peacekeepers were trying to pacify both sides, Al Haq said.
It was not immediately clear if the Abu Sayyaf got involved in Tuesday’s clashes.
Sad incident
Government peace panel chairman Marvic Leonen said last Tuesday’s fighting was a sad development.
Leonen though described the incident as isolated as the government is preparing a meeting with its counterparts in the MILF next month.
“We are saddened to receive news from Basilan about a misencounter… We are also informed that the incident has caused some casualties,” Leonen said.
Leonen said some civilians have also been evacuated as a result of the incident.
“They are already being attended to by the relevant government units. The fighting has already stopped. We are certain that this is an isolated incident,” he said.
Leonen said the government and the MILF do not intend to engage in armed confrontation.
“We are confident that the current mechanisms for monitoring violations of the ceasefire agreement are in place and are effectively working. With the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as the ceasefire committees, we hope to be able to get a clearer picture of the causes of this incident,” he said.
MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, on the other hand, claimed the group was concerned that a pattern of ceasefire violations by the military could threaten the negotiations.
The military, however, insisted it did not violate the ceasefire on Tuesday as it was chasing a kidnap gang, accusing the MILF of joining the fray. The rebels claimed the soldiers provoked them when they attacked guerrilla positions on Basilan.
“The trust and confidence between the two sides are getting thinner,” Iqbal said, adding he feared an escalation of violence that could further stall the talks.
Malacañang also vowed to exert all efforts to rescue the two soldiers taken hostage by the rebels.
“The government is working on finding them,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
Valte said they would continue to countercheck the facts about the incident, citing conflicting reports from the field.
Valte said AFP chief Eduardo Oban Jr. has ordered the military’s Inspector General “to go to Basilan to ascertain the facts.”
President Aquino yesterday called for a command conference of the AFP on Friday following the clashes.
“I have called for a command conference on Friday when the Secretary of National Defense arrives to precisely tackle the issue,” Aquino said. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is still abroad.
At the same time, Malacañang assured the relatives of the soldiers killed in Basilan that there will be “no whitewash” in the investigation of the clashes between government and MILF forces.
“We sympathize with them. We have interviewed here a sibling of a soldier who expressed fears that the investigation might be a whitewash. That will not happen,” Valte said.
Army chief Ortiz arrived here to check the status of the military operation and the conditions of the government casualties.
Ortiz met with Westmincom chief Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer to determine the status of the missing soldiers in a closed door meeting in Camp Navarro.
Ortiz ordered the relief of Lt. Col. Leo Pena, commander of the 4th Special Forces Battalion, which supervises the troops that suffered casualties during the clash.
Ortiz said he has designated Lt. Col. Jose Laplap, deputy chief of Special Operations Task Force Basilan, as acting commander of the battalion.
The military also welcomed the MILF protest to file ceasefire violation charges, saying it is part of the truce mechanism.
Cabangbang, however, made it clear that troops were under orders to pursue the group of Malat who was believed to be holding captive some kidnap victims and did not encroach on the MILF area of temporary stay. –With Jose Rodel Clapano, Delon Porcalla, Alexis Romero, Jaime Laude, AP