Soldiers, Muslim rebels clash anew in Kudarat

Army troops clashed anew yesterday with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Pentagon kidnapping gang in Sultan Kudarat, shelling rebel positions and inflicting more casualties on the fleeing guerrillas, the military said.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said troops were verifying reports that the fresh fighting near the village of Polomolok in mountainous Columbio, Sultan Kudarat, has raised the death toll to 26 MILF rebels and allies. He said no one was reported killed or injured on the military side.

Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman of the military’s Southern Command, said the Armed Forces will "definitely" file a complaint against the MILF with the joint ceasefire committee.

Ando said the fresh fighting erupted after MILF forces waylaid patrolling elements of the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Bunawan.

Troops have occupied the mountain village after driving away a large group of MILF guerrillas and Pentagon gang members in days of fierce clashes that killed at least 20 rebels and their allies as of Saturday.

Bodies have not been recovered because of the Moro rebels’ practice of carting away dead comrades, but the new figure - still being double-checked by the military - was based on reports from troops in the field, civilians and a captured MILF member, Ando said.

"They have scattered and splintered into different groups," Ando said.

He said the military, aided by MG-520 attack helicopters, conducted air and ground assaults on the rebels, firing 105mm Howitzer cannons.

The fighting, which began Thursday, eased Saturday, and soldiers were working to secure the return of more than 200 families forced from their homes by the clashes in Polomolok and nearby Tulunan village, Ando said.

Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu has sent a team of health and social workers to Columbio to assist hundreds of residents affected by the hostilities.

A military report said soldiers discovered an abandoned rebel training camp near Polomolok with an obstacle course and trenches. Six sacks of rice and medical supplies were found there.

The military believes that the Dec. 24 bombing in Datu Piang, Maguindanao, which killed 17 people, including the town’s mayor, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, was hatched in that MILF enclave. MILF rebels led by one Commander Rambo were blamed for the blast.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu acknowledged that rebel positions in Polomolok were overtaken by the Army because of the intense air barrage.

He denied any rebels had been killed and said only three guerrillas were wounded in the fighting.

Kabalu claimed three soldiers were killed and 14 others, including 11 from pro-government militias, were wounded as of Saturday.

He denied that Pentagon gang members were in Polomolok, alleging the military made up the allegation to justify an attack on the MILF. Polomolok is near a rugged mountainous area where the rebels maintain strongholds.

Kabalu said they would maintain a defensive posture in Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato and Maguindanao as they anticipate more military maneuvers. — John Unson, John Paul Jubelag, Jaime Laude and AP