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Monday, May 05, 2003
22 die in MILF attack on Zambo town
DAVAO -- Just over a week after apologizing for killing of 13 civilians in Lanao del Norte, Moro rebels again attacked a remote town in Zamboanga del Norte at the eve of its fiesta and abducted 20 civilians, including the family of the town mayor, who is a former ABS-CBN executive in Davao.
At least 22 people were reportedly killed as government forces fought a band of some 70 suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerillas who stormed the town of Siocon, the military said.
The rebels attacked the military headquarters and the municipal police station. They also torched the central public market and damaged the office of the municipal government.
Among the 20 persons abducted by the rebels were the wife and son of Mayor Cesar C. Soriano.
The rebels seized several persons they intended to use as "human shields" against pursuing troops, but most of them have been rescued around noon, including the wife and son of the Siocon mayor.
About four hostages are believed to remain in rebel hands, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Lucero said in Manila.
"As of 2:40 p.m., data we received from the Southern Command indicate that those killed in action were two Army soldiers, six policemen and eight civilians. We also recovered the bodies of six rebels," Lucero said.
"But the area is now controlled by government forces," he said.
Eight other policemen and soldiers, as well as seven civilians, were also wounded.
"There were many civilian casualties because it was the eve of the fiesta," a senior military official who asked not to be named told reporters.
Military operations were continuing to recover the remaining captives, while those rescued appeared to be in "good condition," Lucero said.
The rebels had withdrawn to the edges of the town, but sporadic clashes were still ongoing.
"There is still fighting, but we have inserted additional troops. Key installations are now secured by government forces and the rebels with their hostages are heading to a mountainous area," he said.
The rebels attacked the town hall, public market and hospital around 2 a.m. Sunday.
The military said it believed the guerrillas included men from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the biggest of several Moro rebel groups in Mindanao, the Abu Sayyaf, which is listed as a foreign terrorist group by Washington with suspected links to the al Qaeda network, and some other renegades.
The Abu Sayyaf claims to be fighting for a separate Islamic state in the south but pursues kidnap-for-ransom as its main activity.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu confirmed the attack, but said only two rebels were killed while 11 were wounded.
The attack, he said, was part of the MILF's offensive against the military and was not meant to harm civilians.
Lucero, however, charged that the rebels had been demanding extortion money from Siocon residents, many of whom make a living by panning for gold in the mineral-rich area.
There have been previous attacks in the town after the villagers refused to hand over money.
In Pikit, North Cotabato eight members of the MILF were killed and three soldiers wounded in renewed clashes with government troops in Pikit and Sultan Sabarongis, Maguindanao Province, the military said.
Col. Carduzo Luna, commanding officer of the Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade, said elements from the 40th Infantry Battalion were on patrol when they met around 70 members of the MILF under a certain Kumander Akmad Jairal.
Luna said the gunfight, which started around 5:10 a.m., lasted for two hours. The Moro rebels retreated after two MJ-520 attack helicopters of the Philippine Air Force arrived as reinforcement.
Various high-powered firearms and ammunition were recovered from the dead bodies of the MILF men. There were no casualties on the government side except for the wounded soldiers, Luna said. The military is on hot pursuit operations against the Moro rebels. (Sun.Star Davao/With AFP)
(May 5, 2003 issue)
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