Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Sayyafs may launch retaliatory attacks, Esperon warns
* Bishop laments war in Basilan, Sulu
ARMED Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on Tuesday said Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) sympathizers may stage attacks in Lanao and Cotabato provinces for the loss of dozens of leaders and members of the terror organization in the ongoing military offensive in Basilan.
"We have to maintain our presence in areas where there could be sympathetic violence like Lanao and Cotabato," said Esperon, referring to the number of military forces currently deployed in the areas.
Marine soldiers assaulted last Saturday a fortified camp of the Abu Sayyaf in the jungles of Ungkaya Pukan town in Basilan. The firefight that lasted until the night resulted in the killing of 15 Marine soldiers, five of them officers.
Last Saturday's operations were part of the ongoing "punitive action" waged against at least 130 Abu Sayyaf, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and lawless elements involved in the July 10 killing and beheading of 14 Marines.
On the other hand, the operating troops killed at least 42 Abu Sayyaf bandits in the close-quarter battle, including brothers Furuji and Umair Indama, recognized leaders of the terror group in the province.
The Indama brothers were involved in the July 10 ambush of Marine soldiers in Al-Barkah town, Basilan, which resulted in the killing of the 14 Marine soldiers, 10 of whom were beheaded.
"It's just that while you are fighting in Basilan and Sulu, we also have forces that are ready to protect the infrastructure and population centers in other parts of Mindanao," Esperon said.
He said there was no need to deploy additional troops in the two island provinces, noting that additional five battalions of soldiers have been sent to those areas since the July 10 ambush in Basilan.
Esperon said he was glad that the MILF was not involved in last Saturday's fighting because intelligence agents were able to pinpoint the exact targets.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had directed the military to ensure "total security" throughout Mindanao in the ongoing campaign against the Abu Sayyaf.
When asked what the President meant in ordering in ensuring total security in Mindanao, Tedoro said: "We have to be prepared for any eventuality."
Meanwhile, Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez rued the conduct of military action in Basilan and Sulu saying "war will never solve the problem in Mindanao" and the church "in general is against any war."
He said the presence of the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao "is not the real problem assuming the government takes down all its members, there might still be other groups that will come out and continue the terror activities in the region."
Instead of an all-out war, Gutierrez said the Armed Forces should pull out its troops "to prevent further damage to the region."
He said there are other ways which the government can prevent terror groups from causing harm like going to the negotiating table.
Secretary Teodoro said it is the terrorist group which should submit to the appeal of the clergy for a stop to the war in Sulu and Basilan.
Intelligence officials said that the Abu Sayyaf has about 100 members in the Basilan province while there are about 200 of them in the nearby island-province of Sulu. At least two leaders of the Southeast Asia-based terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) are reportedly in Sulu. (VR/MSN/Sunnex)
