2 soldiers hurt in encounter with MILF members

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Two members of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion were wounded in an encounter with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Barangay Kuloy in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur on Saturday morning, May 10.

Local executives and officials of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division told reporters on Saturday that the soldiers were patrolling in a secluded area in Barangay Kuloy when members of the MILF’s 118th Base Command shot them with assault rifles, provoking a two-hour running gunfight.

Brig. Gen. Patricio Ruben Maata, assistant division commander of 6th ID, told reporters on Saturday, during a dialogue in Cotabato City about the activities of the nonpartisan Independent Election Monitoring Center, that the incident left two members of the 33rd IB wounded.

The two soldiers, now confined to a hospital, are both in stable condition, according to Lt. Col. Roden Orbon, spokesperson of 6th ID.

The 6th ID had reported the incident to the joint Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which resolves security problems in areas covered by the front’s peace compact with Malacañang.

Maata said he is optimistic of a peaceful resolution of the incident by the government and MILF’s joint CCCH and the Joint Ad Hoc Action Group, which is also composed of representatives from both sides.

Local officials and traditional Moro leaders in Shariff Aguak said the heavy gunfire that reverberated through the scene of the encounter forced residents to relocate to safe areas, bringing with them their belongings and farm animals.