Military steps up operations vs Abus in Sultan Kudarat

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The military is now training its guns on Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat following intelligence reports that Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafi Janjalani and his men are holed up in the area, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday.

Reyes confirmed reports that Janjalani and 70 of his followers were sighted in Palimbang on Saturday last week.

He said Janjalani was seen with his men landing in Barangay Libua on board on three pump boats from the Zamboanga peninsula.

"The situation appears it is like that (Janjalani was sighted with the group) that landed in Palimbang," Reyes told newsmen.

Armed Forces Southern Command Maj. Gen. Roy Kyamko said pursuit operations have been launched against the Abu Sayyaf in the area.

Kyamko said two Army battalions have been deployed under the command of 601st Army Brigade chief Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano.

Local officials earlier disclosed 12 suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen have been killed since the military launched the operation Sunday last week.

Kyamko, however, could not confirm the figure but admitted troops have engaged the Abu Sayyaf in several encounters although the bandits managed to escape.

The Palimbang town committee has submitted a resolution urging the military to launch offensives against the Abu Sayyaf after the bandits were sighted in town.

The town council also informed the military of preparations for possible evacuation of residents who will be affected by the pursuit operations.

The town’s crisis committee confirmed that Abu Sayyaf bandits, with around 45 of them heavily armed, landed in Barangay Libua last July 4 from Eleven Islands east of Zamboanga City.

Local officials reported the bandit group was met by a certain Alo Binago and proceeded to Sitio Malabong in Barangay Culobe where they were joined by the Abu Sophia, a kidnapping group operating in Central Mindanao.

Palimbang Mayor Al Haj Labualas Mamansual immediately informed the military and recommended immediate action.

"What the Abu Sayyaf did in Jolo and Basilan shall end here in Palimbang," Mamansual stated in the resolution, according to Kyamko.

In a related development, Army scout rangers on Saturday discovered an alleged Abu Sayyaf camp in Palimbang.

Reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo said combined government troops discovered the abandoned camp while conducting clearing operations at Sitio Piongi in Barangay Butril.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Joselito Kakilala said they believe that it was a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camp and temporarily used by the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Kakilala said the camp, which has a large hut that could accommodate 70 people, is surrounded by trenches and observation posts.

Troops found seven rounds of M14 ammunition, a pair of black uniforms and a cellular phone.

Meanwhile, Reyes said that the operation against the Abu Sayyaf and their supporters in Kabugan Island, one of the islets in Eleven Islands, will continue unhampered.

Reyes said the military operation will continue even after followers of jailed Muslim leader Nur Misuari appealed the military to halt operation citing a previous agreement.

Misuari’s followers claimed there was an agreement that they would not be harmed following the Cabatangan siege in Zamboanga City where the group was given safe passage in exchange for the release of more than 100 residents who were taken hostage at the height of the conflict two years ago.

Reyes claimed the government has not entered into any agreement with the renegade followers of Misuari even as he cited that the military is running after the Abu Sayyaf group and pirates holed out in the islands. – With Mike Frialde