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Thursday, November 17, 2005
Sayyaf, Moro rebels attack Sulu targets anew
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to the al-Qaeda terror group, attacked civilian targets in Sulu, sparking fresh fighting on Wednesday in the southern Philippine island, police and military said.
It said militants, backed by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels, fired a barrage of mortar bombs on the village of Siit in Panamao town in Sulu but there were no reports of casualties.
It was the second time this week that gunmen attacked the village, where the military maintains several command posts.
Security forces also captured on Wednesday a major Abu Sayyaf base in Mt. Purot in Indanan town, Sulu province, and destroyed many bunkers and foxholes. Soldiers recovered spent shells for mortars and ammunition for automatic rifles.
It was the third camp soldiers overran since fighting broke out on Friday in Jolo. Two other bases were captured in Buanza village and in Mt. Kapok, all in Indanan town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf on the island.
"Abu Sayyaf supporters fired a series of mortar rounds in the village of Siit and it's good that no civilians were killed or injured," Southern Command spokesman Colonel Domingo Tutaan said by phone from Jolo.
Tutaan was with Southern Command chief Lieutenant General Edilberto Adan who flew to Jolo to inspect the troops.
He also spoke with senior commanders about the progress of the operation. He ordered an intensified campaign against the Abu Sayyaf and their supporters.
Four soldiers were killed and 22 others wounded since last week and dozens of Abu Sayyaf and MNLF rebels were also slain in the clashes.
Heavy rains the past two days have slowed down the military assault in Jolo.
The island's military commander Brigadier General Alexander Aleo accused the MNLF of aiding the Abu Sayyaf and of fighting alongside them in many instances.
"The operation is going on and fighting has resumed," he said.
Aleo said his group is pursuing in Jolo Island Abu Sayyaf leaders Albader Parad and Radulan Sahiron and Umbra Jumdail Gumbahali, who are all included in the terror lists of Washington and Manila.
Manila blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the series of terrorism and kidnappings in the south.
Social welfare acting chief Lualhati Pablo said Tuesday that some 900 people have fled their homes in Buanza village and are now sheltered in safer areas in Indanan.
Other reports said as many as 2,500 civilians were displaced by the strife.
The fighting was triggered by an Abu Sayyaf attack on a marine patrol Friday in the village of Buanza and this spread the next day to nearby areas.
In February, at least 25 soldiers and some 120 MNLF and Abu Sayyaf militants had been killed in weeks of fierce clashes following a rebel attack on a military post in Jolo.
Most of the attackers were loyal supporters of jailed MNLF leader Nur Misuari.
Misuari formerly headed the MNLF that accepted limited autonomy and signed a peace deal with the government in 1996. But violence flared again in November 2001 after some 200 former rebels, backed by the Abu Sayyaf, attacked a major army base in Jolo.
Misuari later escaped to Malaysia where he was arrested and deported back to the Philippines.
He was imprisoned on charges of rebellion, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but thousands of his followers and supporters still maintain strongholds in Jolo, about 950 kilometers south of Manila. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(November 17, 2005 issue)
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