Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Commander Bravo denies attacking Lanao Norte
TWO months after the raid and massacre in three towns of Lanao del Norte, renegade Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander Abdullah Macapaar alias Kumander Bravo denies he led the August 18 pillage.
In a television network report, Bravo accused his former sub-commander, Alvin Cuntu, of the killings during the attack and then blaming the 31 murders on him.
Bravo said his group was pursuing Cuntu's group for their atrocities in Lapayan, Kauswagan "because the MILF wanted to court-martial them but they escaped and surrendered to the Philippine government."
Bravo expressed surprised when Cuntu and 30 of his men were instead feted by the government after they surrendered. He said Cuntu and his men were used by the government to destroy the legitimate struggle of the Bangsamoro people.
In a reaction, Lieutenant Colonel Jose Maria Cuerpo of the Joint Force Mindanao said Bravo is just making Cuntu as his scapegoat and that there is no truth to all of Bravo's accusations.
"Because Bravo is too scared to face the bar of justice because he knows he is guilty. If he is a real mujahideen as he claimed to be, he should explain why they should kill innocent civilians? That's not the way of Allah. Arms and violence is not the answer to resolve conflicts," Cuerpo said.
"We did not kill civilians because that is forbidden under the religion of Islam. However, there were stray bullets in the crossfire. Some of the civilians were members of the Ilaga who tried to fight us," Bravo earlier said in an exclusive interview by ABS-CBN's Jorge Cariño.
Cuntu's group was recently ordered released by the court in Iligan City after they were cleared of involvement from the August 18 attacks. (BOT)
