49 killed as soldiers, Kato’s fighters clash

From the Manila Standard Today (Jun 28): 49 killed as soldiers, Kato’s fighters clash

A total of 49 persons were killed in clashes between government forces and the Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters, a breakaway rebel group, since late Monday night following simultaneous attacks launched by the rebels on at least three military detachments in Central Mindanao.

The military said it killed three more rebels on Thursday, bringing to six the total of casualties on the rebels’ side, while BIFF commander Samsudin, who led the attacks on military posts, claimed that his men killed at least 43 members of the Civilian Volunteers Group, a militia group, and wounded several others.

At least thirteen high powered firearms from the militias were also believed taken by the rebels.

Samsudin was a former commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who broke away from the group with 2,000 of his men and joined the Moro National Liberation Front.

He has also allied with Umbra Kato, the founder and leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, also a breakaway group from the MILF.

The military, meanwhile, denied Samsudin’s claim of heavy casualty on the government side.

Army 6th Infantry Division Spokesman Col. Dixon Hermoso said the report on the government casualty “was  not true,” and also denied that there were clashes in Datu Piang and Sharif Aguak.

“No incidents in Datu Piang and Sharif Aguak. Only in President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat and Midsayap, North Cotabato,” Hermosa said.

Hermoso said there was a lull in the fighting on Thursday,  but the rebels had not withdrawn.

“They are still in the area since there are residents in those areas,” he said.

A source said that at the time of fighting, MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari called for an emergency close-door meeting in Zamboanga City supposedly to talk about the ongoing clashes.

In Malacanang, government chief negotiator Miriam Ferrer between the government and the MILF, said that both sides have already taken steps to ensure that the clashes will not jeopardize the ongoing peace talks.

Ferrer said the operations against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters leader Umbra Kato were cleared with the coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities.

“All of the law enforcement actions that the military has taken are coordinated with the CCCH,” she said.

Samsudin said his group launched the attacks to recover their ancestral lands that he claimed were being grabbed by prominent Christian families in Mindanao.

The issue on ancestral lands by the is one of the three remaining annexes which has yet to be resolved by the government and the MILF in the ongoing talks.

“It’s a war between Muslim and Christians because they have taken from us our ancestral land,” he said.

Samsudin added that they were also forced to attack Christian communities to avenge the discrimination that their children had suffered in Christian schools.

The sustained clashes forced some 2,000 residents in nearby Kulasi S.K. Pendatun to scamper for safety to nearby villages.

Meantime, MILF leaders were reportedly concerned about “territorial encroachment following Monday’s intense confrontation between the military and the BIFF, after the clashes spilled-over to MILF controlled territories.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/06/28/49-killed-as-soldiers-katos-fighters-clash/