The MILF said in its website, luwaran.com, that the four-hour running gunbattle in Barangay Lapurap, Tuburan town was triggered by the military’s intrusion into the area, which is covered by the ceasefire, without prior coordination.
The military in Basilan, according to the MILF, was quick to downplay the encounter as something between patrolling soldiers and members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf.
The MILF said the encounter took place in an acknowledged rebel stronghold supposedly covered by the ceasefire.
Members of the MILF’s coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities have branded the military’s encroachment into the Tuburan stronghold as a deliberate violation of the ceasefire.
"The military in Basilan is fully aware that the area where the encounter took place is a recognized MILF territory," said Hassan Namla, a member of the front’s ceasefire committee.
Namla said the MILF will file a formal protest regarding the incident, which he added is on the agenda of the government and the front’s joint ceasefire committees during their meeting on Feb. 22-23 in Bukidnon.
Namla said one of those killed in the Tuburan encounter was the wife of an MILF guerrilla.