Soldier killed in fresh clashes in Midsayap

COTABATO CITY — A soldier was killed while another was wounded as fighting flared up anew in Midsayap, North Cotabato, sparked by what the military described as "unending buildup" of forces in the area by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the hostilities in Midsayap have spilled over to three more villages where soldiers and MILF fighters have been exchanging weapons fire since past 3:00 p.m. Friday.

"The encounters started when MILF rebels in Barangay Tugal (in Midsayap) fired at soldiers sent there to verify complaints by Muslim residents that MILF forces have converged there, as if preparing for an attack," Ando told reporters.

Barangay Tugal is a known haven of lawless elements and rogue Moro rebels said to have links with the Jemaah Islamiyah.

Von Al-Haq, chairman of the MILF’s ceasefire committee, was quoted by the front’s newswebsite, www.luwaran.com, as lamenting the military’s intrusion on Barangay Tugal despite a ceasefire.

Al-Haq, his government counterpart, Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea, and Malaysian General Ismail Khan, signed last Sunday a truce, following two days of rebel-military skirmishes in three barangays in Midsayap, to prevent escalation of hostilities there.

Al-Haq said the hostilities in Barangay Tugal started Friday afternoon and lasted until nightfall.

Al-Haq, in a report to the MILF’s chief negotiator, Muhaquer Icbal, said rebel forces have complied with the Jan. 28 low-level peace pact, covering three barangays in Midsayap, by moving away from the areas where soldiers and guerrillas figured in running gunbattles from Jan. 25 to 27.

Local officials, however, said instead of totally repositioning away from the three barangays, Rangaban, Mudsing and Sambulawan, the rebels converged at Barangay Tugal.

Ando said soldiers dispatched to check the reports of Muslim residents in Tugal on the presence of rebels in their villages were prompted to engage the rebels when they opened fire.

Ando said a member of the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion was killed while another was wounded in the ensuing firefight.

Ando said they are now validating feedback by civilians that five MILF guerrillas were killed while six others were wounded when 81 mm mortar projectiles landed on their positions at the height of the encounter.