ZAMBOANGA CITY – Government troops clashed on Sunday morning with Abu Sayyaf rebels in the restive province of Basilan in the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, officials said.
Marine Capt. Maria Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said the fighting erupted in the village of Kuhon in Al-Barka town. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but Muyuela said troops clashed with the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Basir Kasaran.Television reports said three soldiers were wounded in the clashes in town which is also a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
“The encounter is a result of the persistent efforts of the Task Force Kasanyangan,” Muyuela said.
She said the task force aims to address the prevailing insurgency problem and revive governance in the town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, a spokesman for the Philippine military, said a pair of MG-520 attack helicopters was sent to Basilan to support ground troops in fighting the Abu Sayyaf, blamed by police and military for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the region.
Mujiv Hataman, the regional governor, has in November ordered an all-out war against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan, his home province, following clashes in Sumisip town.
But a local and influential Catholic Bishop Martin Jumoad said waging a full-scale military offensive against the rebel group is not the solution. “Waging an all-out campaign against the lawless elements in Mindanao is not the solution,” he said, stressing that the use of violence to violence might even encourage more rebel recruits.
“Those perpetrators or lawless elements, we can’t do anything about them, run after them… Finishing them all? I think that is not the solution because that will just add more problems. I think the government must act like a mother that will look for aid in order to win their trust and confidence to the calls of law,” he said, adding, extreme poverty from which most people in Mindanao suffer is at the root of the conflict.
“I have been in Basilan. Parang paulit-ulit na lang ang pangyarari. I think the approach should really be no longer through guns. I ask the government to really give more educational and livelihood programs to those areas, especially in Sumisip,” he said.
Sumisip is Hataman’s hometown.
The bishop said instead of an armed response, government officials should find ways to assure the rebels that Mindanaoans are not second-class citizens, and that they get educated and have the means to support themselves and their children.
Human rights group Suara Bangsamoro also warned that a full military offensive in Basilan could lead to civilian abuses and destruction of properties, and massive displacement of people.
Amira Lidasan, the group’s leader, has cautioned Hataman – whose elder brother Hadjiman Salliman is the congressman of Basilan – in his all-out war announcement against the Abu Sayyaf fearing that civilians will be targeted in the military assault.
“Such policy is prone to abuse of power by the authorities and would lead to more cases of human rights violations such as massive displacement of residents, death due to strafing and indiscriminate firing, destruction of properties, exposing women and children to harm,” Lidasan said.
She said previous wars against the Abu Sayyaf tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya had resulted in the exodus of civilians whose properties and livelihoods were affected by military operations. She said that in 2000, the government ordered a massive military assault, backed by US military forces, against the Abu Sayyaf and the biggest casualties were the civilians while the Abu Sayyaf still continues their criminal activities.
Lidasan also accused Hataman of contradicting himself when two years ago he and the other governors in the autonomous region said “never again” to all-out war policy in dealing with rebels. She reminded Hataman that in the previous military operations against the Abu Sayyaf, there were also reports of military clashes with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels who are also in the mountainous area of Basilan. (Mindanao Examiner)
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