Suspected Pentagon men attack militiamen’s outpost in Cotabato

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Hostilities greeted yesterday’s start of the joint probe of government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiators on the Dec. 24 bombing in Datu Piang, Maguindanao that left 17 people, including the town’s mayor, dead.

Four suspected members of the Pentagon kidnapping gang were wounded when they attempted to take over an outpost of militiamen in Malamote, a secluded area in Kabacan, North Cotabato, just hours before both panels met in Cotabato City to begin the joint inquiry.

This developed as more than 60 peace activists, including about a dozen foreigners, plan to travel to Mindanao this week to investigate alleged violations of the 1997 ceasefire between the government and Muslim guerrillas, organizers said.

More than 30 people have been killed and dozens wounded in bomb attacks and the Datu Piang ambush, which the military blamed on MILF guerrillas.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the gunmen, armed with B-40 rockets and assault rifles, surrounded the Malamote outpost manned by civilians and members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU), and opened fire, triggering an hour-long gunbattle.

Though outnumbered, the militiamen wounded four of their attackers who later fled to the nearby Liguasan Marsh, a known stronghold of the MILF and where kidnapping-for-ransom gangs hold out.

Preceding the Kabacan incident was an encounter between military and MILF forces in Datu Piang, where one rebel was slain.

The clash took place when elements of the Army’s 37th Infantry Battalion encountered a 10-man MILF band led by one Commander Amilil Umbra Kato.

The peace activists said they have notified the military and the rebels about their potentially dangerous mission. They said participants would travel unescorted most of the time.

The week-long mission will take the Filipino activists and observers from Australia, East Timor, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United States to scenes of recent deadly clashes in at least four southern provinces — Cotabato, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.

Apart from ceasefire violations, the group called the Mindanao People’s Caucus wants to look into the plight of villagers affected by the fighting and reports of displacement of villagers.

"It’s daring but we need to do this," organizer Gus Miclat said.

"They’re waging war in the people’s name and the people should assert their right to peace," said Miclat, adding the group’s findings will be made public and submitted to the government and the rebels.

Adam Rudkin, a 25-year-old university teacher from Adelaide, Australia, said he was confident the organizers will take care of their security, but added that each foreign participant could decline to venture into risky areas.

"Both sides have assured our safety," Rudkin said. "I’m confident and I’m looking forward to going into those areas."

Several countries, including the United States and Australia, have advised their citizens against traveling to Mindanao.

The country’s impoverished South is home to many lawless groups, including the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf and the Pentagon gang, notorious for kidnappings and killings. Both groups are on a US list of terrorist organizations.