MILF to Sayyaf: Mend your ways

ILIGAN CITY – Following Tuesday’s bloody police assault on a Bicutan jail that left 22 inmates, mostly Abu Sayyaf detainees, dead, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has called on the al-Qaeda-linked group to "mend its ways" by following the teachings of Islam.

Muhammad Ameen, secretary to the office of MILF chairman Al Hadj Ibrahim Murad, posted a statement Wednesday on the group’s official website (www.luwaran.com) calling on Abu Sayyaf militants to "mend their ways."

"I call on true Abu Sayyaf Group members to consider mending their ways by following the true teachings of Islam which forbid targeting non-combatants or civilians even in times of war," Ameen said. "Prophet Muhammad and his companions never deliberately attacked civilians. In Islam, even the destruction of orchards, homes and animals is strictly prohibited," Ameen added.

Meanwhile, party-list Rep. Mujiv Hataman, who was tapped by Abu Sayyaf prisoners to negotiate for their surrender, said all avenues for a peaceful resolution to the conflict should have been exhausted.

After a 30-hour standoff, government forces stormed the high-security jail building in Bicutan, Taguig where some 120 Abu Sayyaf detainees were held, including three of their leaders — Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot; Nadz Sabdullah, alias Commander Global; and jailbreak leader Alhamser Limbong, alias Kosovo. — Lino dela Cruz