The Moro Islamic Liberation Front said on Sunday more fighting would most likely happen at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan if the military were to continue punitive operations against its forces in Mindanao.Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that religious leaders in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur in sermons on Saturday called on the Bangsamoro people to unite and wage a jihad -- holy war -- against enemies of Islam. Iqbal said MILF chair Ebrahim Murad also stated that if the military operation would not stop, more fighting should be expected in the future. “The possible declaration of Jihad by religious leaders is part of their personal views. In the MILF, we have been launching Jihad since we started our organization but we are now negotiating with the government,” Iqbal said. “Right now, the military operations in Central Mindanao and Lanao areas continue. If they will not stop, we expect fighting will erupt again after Ramadan,” he said.
The call for unity and Jihad among Muslims came out after soldiers attacked MILF rebels in Calanugas, Lanao del Sur, while doing their Iftar (breaking of fast) on Thursday. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has mounted an operation against MILF commanders Ameril Ombra Kato and Abdulla Macapaar, also known as Bravo. The two are facing multiple criminal charges for allegedly leading rebel attacks on civilian communities in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte last month.
The government has doubled the reward for information leading to the capture of Kato and Bravo from P5 million each to P10 million. Another P5 million has been put up for the capture of another MILF commander, Aleem Sulayman Pangalian. “We will not surrender them because we have no agreement with government to turn them over,” Iqbal said.