ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A commander of the Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and seven of his men surrendered yesterday with their five civilian hostages in Sta. Catalina, one of the villages still held by rebels on the 16th day of fighting with government forces.
The rebels led by Salip Idjal, a Basilan-based MNLF group, emerged from the village and surrendered with their hostages shortly before 10 a.m.
Three of the rebels surrendered with injuries and were promptly brought to the nearest military command post and given medical treatment.
Idjal and the rest of his men were given over to the custody of regional police director Chief Superintendent Juanito Vao.
The five hostages, on the other hand, were brought to the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for debriefing and to ensure they are not rebels trying to pass off as civilians.
The rebels were forced to surrender as government forces intensified the offensive by deploying attack helicopters and airplanes in flushing out the rebel group in a nearby mangrove area.
Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, designated spokesman for military operations here, said air assets have been deployed to attack the rebels who were seen in the mangrove areas of Barangay Mariki.
The naval forces also established a blockade to prevent the rebel forces from slipping through the coastal areas.
The military was alerted on reports that the rebels led by MNLF commander Habier Malik were planning to escape through the coastlines.
A police official said Idjal had revealed three MNLF commanders led by Malik with some 200 gunmen are still holed out in the area with some hostages.
Idjal said Malik, a trusted commander of MNLF founder Nur Misuari, has 80 gunmen while the other two rebel commanders he did not identify were supported with 30 to 40 followers.
Idjal also revealed Malik and his men were providing ammunition to his group.
Idjal said they were forced to give up as the military intensified its air strikes.
Five rebels were killed by troops on Monday in a firefight while trying to break out from the cordon in Sta. Catalina, officials said.
Another Army officer, 1Lt. Francis Damian, died Monday after he succumbed to injuries from sniper fire.
This brought to 13 officers and enlisted personnel killed in action with 159 soldiers and policemen wounded since the fighting broke out on Sept. 9.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the rebels sustained 105 dead while 45 have surrendered and 72 others captured in the continuing military operation.
The casualty figure is expected to further increase as the fighting, which the military leadership claimed to be already on its final phase, continues with military planes dropping bombs on rebel positions yesterday morning. – Jaime Laude, Perseus Echeminada, Dino Balabo