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Southeast Asia
Locals flee clashes between Filippino military and Abu Sayyaf
2004-01-27
Hundreds of families from coastal villages in North Upi, Maguindanao have fled to safer grounds to avoid being caught in the crossfire when clashes between government forces and alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf erupted since last week. North Upi Mayor Ramon Piang Sr. said the evacuees have sought temporary shelter in barangays Sudan, Sinifak, Miti and Nalkan in Cotabato City and in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat town when Army soldiers intensified their manhunt against alleged Abu Sayyaf members believed hiding in the coastal areas. The hunt was so intense that Army used aerial and ground bombardment that caused panic among residents of barangay Laguitan, a coastal village in North Upi.

Piang, however, did not categorically say that the Abu Sayyaf has “invaded” his town. He said that the lawless elements now causing fear among residents in coastal villages are members of another group, the Abu Sofia, led by Commanders Minalang and Binago who allegedly masterminded the kidnapping of Korean national Jae Kwon Yoon in Palembang, Sultan Kudarat province in 2001. Minalang, said to be a top leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is a resident of Barangay Laguitan, North Upi.

The fighting started on Jan. 20 following reports that Abu Sayyaf members were sighted massing in troops in Barangay Laguitan. The Jan. 20 firefight resulted to the death of two Abu Sayyaf members and the wounding of seven others, reports said. Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, commander of the Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade, said suspected ASG members landed in Barangay Laguitan on board pump boats from Malabang, a coastal town in Lanao del Sur. As soon as the Army confirmed the presence of the Abu Sayyaf in the area, Dema-ala ordered the realignment of government troops. The Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion was redeployed in coastal North Upi, the same unit that pounded ASG’s alleged hideouts in coastal towns of Lebak and Palembang in Sultan Kudarat province.

The Abu Sofia, said the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, has links with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the ASG, a report earlier denied by the MILF. “That is their justification so they could use the military to attack (us),” said MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu.
Seems a sensible thing to do, to me...
The Jan. 20 incident in North Upi, residents in the area said, was a result of a “rido” or clan wars between two feuding families — that of Minalang’s family and Ustadz Usop Amirul’s. Kabalu admitted that Minalang is among the top MILF leaders in Barangay Laguitan, a former member of the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Ustadz Amirul. The feud between Minalang and Amirul started when the former joined MILF in late 1990s.
Posted by:Dan Darling

#1  Looks like the MILF has splintered off another 'seperate group' to give them legitimacy while they are negociating with the government.

Good that the people left. Abu Sayyaf is good at hiding behind 'human shields' of women and children.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2004-1-27 9:29:03 AM  

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