37 BIFF bandits, 1 soldier dead in clashes

MANILA, Philippines - At least 37 gunmen of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), including child warriors, have been killed as government troops continue their offensives at the rebels’ lairs in Maguindanao, the military said yesterday.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry division, said field troops have seen newly dug graves in the area but did not exhume them out of respect for Muslim traditions.

“We counted (the graves) because we cannot exhume them in deference to the Muslim tradition. Some sensitivities might be slighted. We also counted the bodies,” Hermoso said.

“At least 12 have been identified while others are still being identified. Now, the irony is there were child warriors bearing firearms and wearing uniform among the 37 fatalities,” he added.

It remains unclear how many of the slain BIFF fighters were minors.

“We also have confirmation from various sources on the ground that the BIFF had indeed recruited children for warfare,” Hermoso said.

Hermoso said one soldier was killed while seven others were hurt during sporadic clashes that started Sunday. Most of the wounded soldiers were hit by mortar and improvised explosives set off by the rebels.

“Unfortunately, we lost one soldier in the process of clearing the areas which the BIFF used as `takeoff spots’ for its criminal activities,” Hermoso said.

The identities of the fatalities were not made immediately available.

Hermoso said the number of fatalities could increase awaiting verification of local officials helping the military to identify those killed.

Fresh clashes erupted late Tuesday and lasted until around 1 p.m. yesterday in Barangay Ganta in Shariff Saydona and in Datu Piang town where most of the encounters are concentrated.

A big bulk of the BIFF forces are operating in the towns of Datu Piang, Shariff Saidona, Salibo, Mamasapano and Datu Saudi.

“They (BIFF) splintered into small groups in all directions and they are now being chased by soldiers and policemen,” Hermoso said.

The military operations, which were launched last Monday, were supposed to end yesterday. The military, however, requested for a 72-hour extension to give way to the clearing operations.

Security forces have been clashing with the BIFF since Sunday.

BIFF forces counterattacked Tuesday night by firing assault rifles and shoulder-fired 40 mm grenades at Army detachments along a highway connecting Datu Piang to Datu Saudi.

“Units of the (Army’s) 6th ID are guarding villages vulnerable to BIFF diversionary attacks,” Hermoso said.

The 6th ID launched what it called “calibrated police action” against the BIFF rebels to weaken their control of certain areas in the boundary of Maguindanao and North Cotabato.

Fighting erupted in Sultan sa Barongis, a day after the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the normalization annex, which will pave way to the crafting of a final peace agreement.

Clashes continued last Monday with the military using artillery to raid BIFF lairs at the boundary of Pikit in North Cotabato and Shariff Saydona in Maguindanao. Gun battles also transpired Tuesday morning in Barangay Bakat in Shariff Saydona town.

As government forces raid the BIFF lairs, a powerful explosion rocked a public terminal in Datu Piang town last Tuesday, leaving an eight-year-old girl and a pregnant woman injured.

The explosion has been attributed to the BIFF, which the military claimed only has about 300 fighters. 

“They (BIFF) did that to ease the pressure on their comrades in Shariff Saydona but the irony is the ones hurt were civilians,” Hermoso said.

More than 1,400 families were forced to flee because of the armed violence.

Hermoso said the displaced residents could not return to their homes until authorities serve arrest warrants to the BIFF rebels facing criminal charges.

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), on the other hand, claimed the military was attacking their strongholds instead of the BIFF.– With John Unson, Rainier Allan Ronda, Edith Regalado