| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Moro rebels received weapons, says report |
| 2004-08-03 |
| The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group has received a major arms shipment, an intelligence report says, prompting a military investigation. The act also raised doubts about the sincerity of the Moro separatists to hold peace talks with the government. According to the intelligence report, nearly 2,000 firearms were shipped on July 24 to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the southern provinces of Lanao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat, about 950km south-east of Manila, allegedly from Indonesia, a military official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the military was 'in the process of checking' the report. The arms shipment reportedly consisted of 1,000 M-16 rifles along with grenade launchers, light submachine guns, .45-calibre pistols and thousands of rounds of ammunition, the official said. The MILF was also trying to acquire heavy machine guns and mortars, another official said. The shipment was the first of two or more planned deliveries for the guerillas. The weapons were reportedly smuggled into the country at dawn aboard a motor vessel, which was met at sea by smaller fishing boats that took the weapons to shore, the official said. The second shipment has not yet arrived. Army and naval intelligence agents have been trying to confirm the shipment for weeks, said the official. The military did not say why it was unable to stop the import. Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied that the insurgents had received any weapons, saying they were preparing for a new round of peace talks with the Philippine government in Malaysia, which has been brokering an end to the decades-old conflict. He said the suspicion about the alleged arms shipment prompted the military to launch an operation to intercept weapons on July 26 along the coastlines of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces. But nothing was found, he said. 'As far as the MILF is concerned, there is no shipment of arms,' he said. 'We have sufficient firearms.' He said the rebels had not been officially notified about the alleged shipment, although a joint ceasefire monitoring committee had been in place for a year. Major Dickson Hermoso, who sits on the ceasefire panel, said the report would be investigated by both sides. The rebels have been fighting for a separate Muslim homeland in the country's south for decades. Philippine military officials have also accused the guerillas of providing training grounds to foreign militants belonging to Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah, but the MILF has denied that and has pledged to help the government capture terrorists. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |