Hostilities erupt near Camp Abubakar; 9 Moro rebs wounded

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao - Soldiers and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels pounded with artillery each other’s position in a hinterland town not too far away from Camp Abubakar yesterday, raising the specter of a bloody showdown in the surroundings of the former MILF bastion, now a peace zone.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the hostilities came less than a week after the 6th ID confirmed the sightings of MILF guerrillas massing in strategic spots in Maguindanao’s adjoining towns of Matanog, Barira and Buldon, the known gateways to Camp Abubakar.

Ando said yesterday’s hostilities in Buldon, only about 10 kilometers northeast of Camp Abubakar, erupted when a hundred or so MILF rebels opened fire on soldiers patrolling near Sultan Base, a former guerrilla enclave and now a demilitarized area.

"The soldiers were forced to return fire and engage their attackers. They have to defend themselves because they were treacherously attacked from different directions," Ando said.

Local officials said MILF rebels also separately attacked military positions in Barangays Nunungan and Cantor, both in Buldon, and opened fire with B-40 rockets, triggering running gunbattles.

Nine rebels were confirmed wounded in the ensuing gunbattles, three of them hit by shrapnels when an artillery shell landed near them.

Four of the wounded rebels, according to local officials, were followers of Commander Gordon, division commander of an MILF unit operating in forested areas surrounding Camp Abubakar.

"Our men in the field cannot avoid using heavy firepower because the rebels seemed bent on closing in on populated areas. They could use civilians as human shields once cornered by soldiers running after them," Ando said.

Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, has denied the military’s report that their fighters precipitated the skirmishes in Buldon by harassing soldiers in the area.

"On the contrary, it was the military that attacked and shelled our positions in Buldon," Kabalu said.

Preceding the hostilities in Buldon were Army-rebel encounters in Sultan sa Barongis, Mamasapano and Datu Piang towns, all in the second district of Maguindanao.