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Monday, March 10, 2003
Rebels seize bus; 10 die in ensuing clashes
By Nelson C. Bagaforo
DAVAO (updated 9:00 p.m.) -- Suspected Moro separatist rebels killed two government soldiers and seized several vehicles, taking several passengers hostage after robbing them but later freed them unharmed, as new violence broke out in the town of Pikit in North Cotabato, officials said.
Col. Cardozo Luna, 602nd Infantry Brigade commander, said a total of 10 persons were killed as government troops pursued some 200 suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels believed responsible for the atrocities.
He said killed were five MILF rebels, three soldiers, a militiaman, and a civilian.
Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes condemned the attacks and said the government was considering branding the MILF a terrorist group, but noted that the move could jeopardize efforts to continue peace talks with the rebels.
President Arroyo, speaking separately Monday, said the recent actions by the MILF made them appear to be a terrorist organization.
"I am calling on the MILF leadership to stop such attacks and harassment against individuals. Such actions, including the sabotage of transmission lines, only bolsters the argument made by more and more people that the MILF is not a political organization but a terrorist group," Arroyo said.
Suspected MILF men seized Monday a Weena bus along with other vehicles along the national highway in Barangay Dalengaoen, Pikit, North Cotabato.
A soldier in civilian clothes who was aboard the bus was killed. The bus was bound for Davao City from Cotabato City when it was stopped around 5 a.m.
The body of the slain soldier, identified as Master Sgt. Juanito Digno, detailed with the Army's 39th Infantry Battalion based in Cotabato, was found on the roadside where the bus was stopped. He was shot in the head.
The slain soldier's caliber .45 pistol and military ID card were taken from him.
"The rebels boarded the bus and asked who among us was a soldier, then took him (Digno). He was taken near the school and we heard a shot. He was already dead," said passenger Erli Rios.
Reyes blamed the hostage-taking incident Monday on Pakil Ayunan, an MILF commander wanted for a series of killings targeting Christians in the past.
A militiaman, identified as Puas Batutin, was also killed while five villagers were wounded as government troops chased the suspects in nearby Takepan village, about a kilometer from where the bus was seized.
Passengers in three vehicles traveling behind the bus were also taken hostage, said army Capt. Onting Alon, deputy spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division. He did not say how many passengers were in those vehicles.
"The suspects ordered all the passengers to disembark, took them hostage and robbed them," said SPO3 Jesus Cadungog of Pikit police.
He said the hostages were taken to a nearby barangay school where they were held for less than an hour before being freed unharmed.
Pikit Mayor Farida Malingco said all the captives were freed a few hours later as the gunmen fled into the forest.
"The civilians don't know the motive but they were just held there," she said. "They were shaken by what happened."
Malingco said there were no negotiations and the suspects made no demands.
Alon said troops were in the area but could not take action because the hostages were being used as human shields.
As the rebels were escaping along with their hostages, they encountered soldiers from the 40th IB at a detachment in Takepan, Pikit.
Batutin was killed in the ensuing firefight.
The suspects fled from the area and left behind 30 hostages.
The military said the suspects were shooting at the civilians while escaping, as a result of which five hostages were injured.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied their group was involved in the incident but admitted that heavy fighting between his group and government troops resumed in the area at dawn Monday.
He said MILF rebels attacked a military command post near Barangay Dalengaoen in retaliation to military offensives on MILF positions in Balabagan and Malabang towns in Lanao del Sur and the Islamic Center in Buliok.
At around 2 p.m. Monday, fresh fighting occurred anew in Barangays Buliok, Rajah Muda and Bagoingoed. Unconfirmed reports claimed that two soldiers were killed while six others were wounded.
Major General Danilo Senga, however, refused to confirm or deny the report.
"I have nothing to say," he told reporters Monday.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, OV-10 bomber planes were seen hovering around Pikit and dropping bombs in the area.
The neighboring province of Maguindanao was also plunged in darkness late Sunday as suspected MILF members blasted a power transmission tower near Pikit.
Pikit town has been the center of tension between the rebel group and government forces since the military overran a nearby MILF enclave, the so-called "Buliok complex," last month.
Since the fall of the complex, the MILF has stepped up retaliatory attacks, raiding towns and military detachments and blasting transmission towers, causing widespread power outages in Central Mindanao.
The 12,500-strong MILF, blamed for a deadly bomb blast in Davao City last week that left 21 people dead and 115 others wounded, has waged a 25-year-old guerrilla campaign to set up an Islamic state in Mindanao.
Prosecutors are filing murder charges against MILF chief Salamat Hashim and other top MILF leaders for the bomb blast. With AFP |
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