Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels read the independent regional newspaper, The Mindanao Examiner, at a guerrilla base in Southern Philippines.(Photo by Mark Navales – Mindanao Examiner)
ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY (Mindanao Examiner / July 22, 2012) – Muslim rebels are threatening to attack fishermen and traders who refused to pay extortion money in the town of Siocon in the southern Filipino province of Zamboanga del Norte.
The rebels, who are members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, have previously attacked Muslim fishermen in the town and just this month nearly shot 17 crewmembers of a trawler they intercepted off the village of Bucana.
Last month, rebels led by Commander Soya Al-Rashid, harassed villagers in the area and opened fire on a group of fishermen, who managed to flee from the gunmen who operate in several speedboats in Siocon town.
It was not immediately known whether the mayor of the town, Cesar Soriano, had been informed of the attacks. But villagers have sought the help of the police and military authorities in the town, but security forces failed to prevent rebel attacks.
Village officials also asked the military and police to put up detachments in the area to protect civilians from harassments and rebel attacks.
In a manifesto sent to the military’s Western Mindanao Command, village officials said residents, including fishermen and farmers, now live in constant fear and cannot move freely because of threats to their lives and eventual lost of income and livelihoods due to the volatile situation in the town.
They said the village of Bucana is supposed to be a “peace zone,” but “the status of the peace and order situation in the village has deteriorated and is becoming more and more alarming due to killings, harassments, extortion and other criminal activities.”
The manifesto, seen by the Mindanao Examiner, was signed by 74 Bucana villagers, including their officials.
The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, said it would investigate the reports. “We will not tolerate this and we will investigate these complaints,” Von Al-Haq, a spokesman for the MILF, told the Mindanao Examiner.
The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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