ZAMBOANGA CITY, 4 November 2004 — Fighting erupted yesterday between government forces and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, leaving seven people wounded in the southern Philippines. The military said rebels forces led by MILF leader Abdul Lahak attacked a government detachment around 3:30 a.m. in the village of Nabundas in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province, trigering a gunbattle. The MILF said at least three policemen and three militias, including a rebel, were wounded in the fighting that has disrupted the observance of Ramadan. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu blamed government forces for provoking the clashes by attacking MILF positions. "Fighting have been reported in at least seven villages and thousands of Muslims have already fled their homes. Three policemen and three militias, including an MILF fighter, were wounded in the clashes," Kabalu told Arab News. Col. Franklin del Prado, a regional army spokesman, maintained that MILF fighters fired the first shot. "The rebels harassed our troops," he said. While disagreeing on who started yesterday's clashes, Del Prado and Kabalu agreed that the root was a clan feud between rebels and government militias. "This has something to do with feud, but we are trying to control the situation here," said Prado. Kabalu said militiamen and policemen kidnapped and executed MILF members Abdullah Jamil and Mohamedin Kanapia last month, and their relatives have vowed to avenge their deaths. | No doubt they vowed Dire Revenge. |
The fighting was the first to disrupt a two-year-old cease-fire between the government and the MILF since the arrival of a 60-member international cease-fire monitoring team in Mindanao last month. The team is composed of representatives from Saudi Arabia, Libya, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Bahrain and Japan. Malaysia is currently brokering peace talks between the Philippines and the MILF. |