Both the Special Action Force (SAF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) breached their ceasefire when they engaged in a battle in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on January 25. The IMT, an international group of Malaysian-led observers, made this allegation in a report submitted to the Philippine government.The report said the SAF failed to coordinate with the Philippine military and other police units and ignored ceasefire mechanisms.
The objective of the operation was to arrest Malaysian terrorist bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his Filipino associate, Abudl Basit Usman. The firefight ended with 44 police commandos, 17 militants, and four civilians killed. It also threatened the peace process with the MILF when legislators suspended work on the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which would create region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The report also said that SAF members violated ceasefire terms when they gunned down two MILF militants on the morning of the operation. This led to the gun battle between the SAF and the MILF forces.
The report said that, in the first encounter, the Moro militants were responding to the police commandos' attack. At the same, it says the MILF violated ceasfire terms when it moved into local cornfields and attacked another SAF unit.
The report found no evidence that the MILF provided sanctuary to Marwan and Usman, however the IMT believes some MILF members knew where the two were hiding.
As for a viral video showing SAF commandos being executed, the report said there wasn't enough evidence that MILF militants did it. The IMT also says one SAF commando broke ceasefire terms when he killed four sleeping MILF militants during his escape.