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Monday, November 21, 2005
Sulu fighting subsides; relief operations reach evacuees
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Fierce fighting between security forces and Abu Sayyaf militants together with renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels have subsided in Sulu, in southern Philippines, officials said.
Social workers and volunteers taking advantage of the temporary situation try to help thousands of people displaced by the hostilities since last week.
But security officials said despite the lull in the fighting, troops continue to hunt down the militants, whose group is tied to Al-Qaeda terror network.
"There were no reports of armed clashes the past two days. But the operation against the Abu Sayyaf is still going on, and to those who are supporting or aiding them," the Southern Command information chief Major Gamal Hayudini, said.
The Abu Sayyaf militants have splintered into smaller groups to avoid detection by the military.
Most of them have retreated to the mountains that straddled several towns from Indanan in the western side to Panamao in the east of the island.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Zamboanga City sent relief aid to Jolo, about 950 km south of Manila, to help feed some 2,500 people, who fled the fighting in Indanan and Panamao towns.
Most of them are sheltered in temporary refugee centers in safer areas in Jolo.
The military ordered an intensified assault on suspected Abu Sayyaf strongholds in Sulu.
Philippine military chief General Generoso Senga inspected troops last week in the troubled island and ordered troops to intensify their campaign against the Abu Sayyaf group, blamed for the series of bombings and killings in the south.
The operation also targeted MNLF rebels, who were said to be aiding the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu.
"We will pursue relentlessly the Abu Sayyaf and the groups that are supporting them," he said.
Senga told soldiers to get the Abu Sayyaf leaders and destroy the group.
The military accused MNLF rebels of coddling Abu Sayyaf members and in many instances fought alongside with them in the towns of Indanan and Panamao, and that rebels under commanders Khaid Ajibun and Haber Malik were aiding the Abu Sayyaf group.
But Malik denied the accusation and said troops were attacking MNLF positions in Jolo island.
Jolo military chief Brigadier General Alexander Aleo said four soldiers and dozens of Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed. And at least 22 soldiers were also wounded in fierce fighting since last week.
Abu Sayyaf and MNLF forces launched a series of mortar attacks since last week in Panamao and Indanan.
Troops were pursuing Abu Sayyaf leaders Albader Parad and Umbra Jumdail Gumbahali, and Radulan Sahiron, all included in Washington and Manila's terror lists.
A military report said Gumbahali was shot on the leg in previous clashes with troops.
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 the Muslim island of Jolo.
Many Abu Sayyaf militants were former members of the MNLF. And the military said they are still loyal to Misuari and in many instances fought alongside with forces identified with the ex-rebel leader.
(November 21, 2005 issue)
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9 soldiers killed; army alert up