Militiamen ordered to stay away from disputed Maguindanao territories

COTABATO CITY – The military ordered yesterday the repositioning of militiamen away from disputed territories separating them and guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

The repositioning is aimed at preventing a repeat of Monday’s hostilities between local militia groups and MILF guerrillas in Shariff Aguak, sparked by squabbles for control of stretches of big irrigation dikes supplying water to rice farms located in rebel strongholds.

Three militiamen and two MILF guerrillas were wounded in the ensuing firefight, which was promptly stopped by officials of the joint Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH).

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said their commander, Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, tasked the 64th Infantry Battalion to oversee the gradual repositioning of militiamen, under the local government unit of Shariff Aguak, to areas "off limits" to MILF guerrillas.

The hostilities last Monday started when MILF forces fired at the heavy equipment of the provincial government being used to construct irrigation dikes in Barangay Tapikan, which they thought will divert the flow of water away from their farms.

"We were fortunate that we have pulled out the equipment from the area before the ambushers could come close to burn them," Maguindanaon Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan told The STAR in the vernacular.

The encounter sparked a showdown between MILF rebels and government security forces in Maguindanao’s neighboring Shariff Aguak and Mamasapano towns.

Von Al-Haq, chairman of the MILF’s ceasefire committee, said the guerrillas that fought militiamen in Barangay Tapikan, Shariff Aguak have all returned to their enclaves. – John Unson