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| Southeast Asia |
| 2 MILF members blamed for deadly ambush surrender in southern Philippines |
| 2023-08-19 |
| [BenarNews] Two rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front members suspected of taking part in an attack that killed a soldier and a police officer in the southern Philippines last weekend have surrendered and will be charged with murder, military officials said Thursday. The suspects were among 10 MILF button men who ambushed a government security team on Aug. 12 as it escorted regional peace monitors in Ulitan, a barangay on Basilan ...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts... island, said Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of Joint Task Force Basilan and the 101st Brigade. The two were "primarily responsible (among the) perpetrators in the recent ambush," Luzon told news hounds here. He said the suspects surrendered on Tuesday and had provided the military with vital information used by government troops to hunt down the others involved in the attack that left seven other troops injured. Basilan is one of several provinces in the southern Mindanao region that make up the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (BARMM). In a 2014 peace agreement with Manila, the MILF gave up its long-running separatist insurgency in exchange for autonomous rule over predominantly Moslem areas in Mindanao. Under the deal’s terms, the group promised to have its tens of thousands of members turn over and decommission their weapons, but the MILF has struggled to meet that target. In various phases so far, it has decommissioned about 4,500 weapons of 40,000 believed to be in the hands of the members of the former guerrilla force, according to Department of National Defense estimates. In Sunday’s attack, the button men ambushed a security convoy guarding a Joint Peace and Security Team tasked with overseeing the decommissioning and disarming of former MILF combatants. The team — whose members are military, police, MILF and local officials — assists in monitoring and enforcing the peace pact. On Thursday, Luzon pointed to the 2014 peace agreement as being instrumental, in close coordination with its leaders, for the "peaceful and voluntary surrender of the two rebel suspects." He identified the suspects as Adzmin Manjapal, 20, and Mudzni Sapau, 27, saying they were both rogue members of the MILF. The suspects were turned over to the Basilan police chief Col. Carlos Madronio to be charged with murder, Luzon said, while vowing to provide justice for those killed and seven injured in the ambush. Luzon credited MILF leaders with facilitating the surrender, naming Malik Cadil, officer-in-charge of Western Mindanao Front MILF; and Hadji Sammad Ahaddin, member of the MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostility. Abdurahman Rajan, deputy commander of MILF 114th Base Command, also played a role. The military commander had previously said that the MILF’s leaders do not have control over people not identified as their members. The MILF leaders did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment. During a decommissioning ceremony for 1,300 ex-combatants earlier this month, Murad Ebrahim, who heads the BARMM, blamed holy warrior groups with endangering efforts to disarm former MILF guerrillas. Under the decommissioning process, each former combatant who hands over weapons is expected to receive about U.S. $2,400 per weapon, including funds for education. "We are facing a very challenging situation because there are still groups out there that encourage our members to join them," Murad said at the time. The surrender came amid an intense military-police manhunt for the suspects who were believed to be linked to a MILF faction led by Huram Malangka. The faction was alleged to be involved in killings including acting as guns for hire for criminal gangs. "Under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., such attacks will not go unpunished. Justice will be served," Philippine presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez said on Thursday. "The blatant disregard for human life and hostilities against our peace builders is an affront and an act of contempt against the tenets of peacebuilding, human dignity and respect to the rule of law." Related: Moro Islamic Liberation Front: 2023-08-16 Philippine military blames ex-separatist rebels for deadly southern ambush Moro Islamic Liberation Front: 2023-08-05 Bangsamoro leader: Militants endanger efforts to disarm ex-MILF guerrillas in southern Philippines Moro Islamic Liberation Front: 2023-06-27 Thousands flee standoff between govt forces and ex-guerrillas in southern Philippines |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 We thought they had retired from the lists, Abu Ga, but it appears that some, at least, have not. If only I knew how to categorize them! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2023-08-19 20:01 |
| #1 I'm probably going to hell for being excited to see MILF in the headlines - so excited, I shouted to the wife, "Hey, there's MILF in the news again" |
| Posted by: Abu Ga 2023-08-19 18:54 |