MILF commander killed in encounter

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A rebel commander was killed in an encounter between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas in a remote barangay in Sultan Kudarat last Saturday.

Armed Forces Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva told reporters yesterday the slain Commander Musa was a leader of MILF forces operating in Central Mindanao.

Villanueva said an undetermined number of MILF guerrillas were also wounded in the firefight, and that their comrades carried them as they escaped.

The fleeing rebels were chased by troops from the Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion in a running gunbattle, he added.

Villanueva said government troops chanced upon the MILF rebels while conducting mopping-up operations in Sitio Lumbakan, Barangay Kapaya at 6:15 a.m. last Saturday.

Villanueva said the rebels, upon seeing the soldiers, immediately opened fire, prompting the troops to shoot back at the MILF position, killing Musa on the spot.

Villanueva said hostilities in Central Mindanao intensified after MILF rebels attacked a military detachment last week, killing seven Marines.

Seventeen MILF guerrillas were also killed in the raid, he added.

Villanueva said the Armed Forces in Central Mindanao has been placed on red alert and troops confined to barracks following the continuous rebel attacks.

"We have expected that from them (MILF) because they are trying to rebuild by attacking remote villages and harassing innocent civilians," he said.

The rebels earlier vowed to intensify attacks against government forces, ahead of a fact-finding mission from the Organization of Islamic Conference to begin Friday.

The mission was to review the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front.

It would also check on the living conditions of Muslims in Central Mindanao, thousands of whom have been displaced following fierce government-MILF battles. – Roel Pareño, AFP