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Friday, April 21, 2006
Rebel exec: Midsayap attackers not Moro rebels
By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE armed men who recently attacked a Citizen's Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) detachment in Midsayap, North Cotabato are not affiliated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu made this clarification in an interview Thursday.
Kabalu said Kumander Samal Masgal, who allegedly led the attackers, has never been an MILF member.
Hundreds of villagers fled their homes after about 50 armed men attacked Barangay Tugal at around 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Two persons, identified as Amida Ungkad, who is six months pregnant, and Uspo Pato, were reportedly wounded.
Troops belonging to the Army's 38th Infantry Battalion immediately launched a hot pursuit operation against Masgal's group, which resulted in a firefight at about 8 a.m. as the armed men approached the marshland of Maguindanao.
Kabalu said one of Masgal's men was killed in the firefight.
The attack came three days after MILF renegades killed barangay chair Tubog Pulalon.
He was the second village chief murdered in North Cotabato over the past six days.
Pulalon was reportedly watching a billiards game when three men approached him and opened fire.
Kabalu said Pulalon was still considered an MILF sympathizer despite his surrender in the late 1990s.
Kabalu said the killing of Pulalon could have been an offshoot of a long-standing feud with Masgal's group in the border areas of Midsayap in North Cotabato and Datu Piang in Maguindanao.
Kabalu said the MILF leadership had sent emissaries to the villages to pacify warring leaders.
He said Pulalon and his militiamen were involved in previous misunderstandings with other armed groups operating in villages of Midsayap.
Kabalu said they have already instructed MILF fighters in the area not to get involved in the skirmishes to avoid clashes with government forces.
"We advised our commanders to give way to the military action while the CCCH is coming to the scene," Kabalu said.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (April 21, 2006 issue)
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