Moro guerrillas, militiamen in standoff

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Militiamen and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas continued to face a standoff in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, ready to shoot at each other at the slightest provocation.

But the joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) expressed confidence that they could disengage both sides and re-establish the "firearm-free buffer zone" separating the territories occupied by both sides.

"We are still in control. We are on top of the situation there," said Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea, chairman of the government’s CCCH.

The tension in Shariff Aguak, capital of Maguindanao, was sparked by a series of firefights last week between local MILF fighters and militiamen, who similarly figured in fierce clashes last June, displacing some 20,000 residents.

The Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion, which has jurisdiction over Shariff Aguak and the surrounding towns, tightened security in strategic stretches of the national highway traversing the town to prevent diversionary rebel attacks.

The MILF has accused the 64th IB of shelling with 81-mm mortars its guerrillas’ camp in Barangay Kuloy two days ago.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza earlier said the hostilities in Shariff Aguak were "isolated" and would not affect the peace talks with the MILF.

"Despite the hostilities there, the ceasefire remains intact and both the government and MILF’s ceasefire committees remain in full control of the situation," he said.

Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, said the hostilities in Shariff Aguak started when local militiamen and soldiers crossed a supposed "buffer zone" and entered an MILF-occupied area in Barangay Kuloy.

Kabalu said MILF rebels were forced to engage the advancing soldiers and militiamen to prevent them from closing in.

However, Lt. Col Julieto Ando, civil-military relations chief of the 6th ID, told reporters via text messages that the hostilities in Barangay Kuloy started when a group of rebels, led by a certain Abu Rushda, surrounded a command post of the 64th Infantry Battalion there and without warning, opened fire with automatic weapons.

In its website (www.luwaran.com), the MILF said the tension now gripping Shariff Aguak could escalate if the militiamen and soldiers would not stop from encroaching into MILF camps in the area.

The MILF claimed that civilian volunteers, armed with assault rifles, again attacked guerrilla enclaves in Barangay Kuloy the other day.

Dureza said the joint CCCH is now investigating the encounters in the area.

The government and MILF panels are still on an impasse over the thorny issue of ancestral domain.