MILF attackers go free, Philippines says truce reached in South after attack

SULTAN KUDARAT – The Philippine government said a truce has been reached between warring Moro Islamic Liberation Front members and civilians in the southern province of Sultan Kudarat.

Five people were wounded when MILF gunmen attacked civilians in the village of Lutayan and military officials quickly said the violence stemmed from a clan war and has nothing to do with the peace process with the former rebel group.

Army Major Carlos Sol, Secretariat Director of the Government Ceasefire Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities, said those involved in the September 9 attack have been pulled from the village following the truce accord.

“A ceasefire had already been declared in Lutayan and as a result, the involved MILF members already pulled out from the conflict area,” he said, adding, the truce was reached through the intercession of both the government and MILF ceasefire bodies, the local town officials and the police and military authorities.

“The combined Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities, the ceasefire mechanism of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, together with the local government and security forces, successfully intervened to prevent the firefight from further escalation,” Sol said.

Citing reports, Sol said the fighting was due to a land conflict between the two groups that engaged in battle for almost one hour. He said among the wounded were the village chieftain and a council member.

While insisting the violence has nothing to do with the peace process, Sol did not say whether the MILF gunmen would be charged for the attack which already violated the peace accord the former rebel group signed with Manila in 2014.

“It has nothing to do with the Bangsamoro Basic Law or the peace process in general. It was a case of rido or clan war between two warring groups that happened to have MILF members involved. But I assure you that the ceasefire between the government and the MILF remains,” Sol said.

He said leaders of the warring groups have agreed to end the conflict and that a settlement is being facilitated by the protagonists.

The MILF did not issue a statement about the fighting, but it renewed fears from civilians that former rebels – who are still armed – could just attack civilian communities without warning.

Despite the peace accord, the MILF still holds a huge arsenal of weapons and thousands of its members are also armed.

In 2008, hundreds of MILF rebels attacked several towns in southern Philippines after a Muslim homeland deal with the government failed. Gunmen went on a shooting rampage and pillaged villages in the towns of Kolambugan, Bacolod, Maigo, Tubod and Kauswagan as they advanced to other areas in Lanao del Norte, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat.

Rebels launched the attacks after the Supreme Court stopped the formal signing of the ancestral domain accord saying it was unconstitutional. The ancestral domain covers the whole of the Muslim autonomous region – Sulu, Tawi-Tawi-, Basilan, Maguindanao and Lanao, including Marawi City. And some areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Mindanao where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes. And also Palawan Island, off Mindanao.

Manila opened peace talks in 2001 with the MILF, then the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting for the establishment of a separate Muslim homeland. (Mindanao Examiner)

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