Fighting spreads as Palace warns Nur’s men of use of force

From the Daily Tribune (Sep 13): Fighting spreads as Palace warns Nur’s men of use of force

The armed conflict in Zamboanga City has apparently spilled over to Basilan province where Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces engaged government security forces in Lamitan City and Tipo-Tipo town, initially resulting in the wounding of three soldiers.

MNLF spokesman lawyer Emmanuel Fon-tanilla claimed that MNLF members in Basilan were supposed to peacefully march but were fired upon by government troops. “Those were MNLF forces who peacefully massed up to march but were shot and were forced to defend themselves,” he said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), however, tagged members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group as the encountered armed men, and downplayed the participation of MNLF forces in the Basilan fire-fights. At a press briefing, AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. said the military is assessing if the Basilan firefights were connected to the ongoing crisis in Zamboanga City where MNLF forces have infiltrated five barangays and now holding 180 civilians hostages.

Tutaan said the intense fighting in Lamitan City erupted around 9:30 a.m. yesterday between elements of the Army’s 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion and armed men.

“What we are trying to do right now is to assess if this incident in Lamitan is one way or another connected to the incident in Zamboanga City. We do not want to speculate on the incident that happened,” he stressed.

Initial results showed that three soldiers were wounded during the firefight.

The military said that the gunbattle occurred in Sitio Burgos and Sitio Campo Dos in Barangay Colonia, Lamitan City.

Capt. Jefferson Somera, spokesman of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division (ID), tagged the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) as the encountered armed band.

Somera identified Isnilon Hapilon, Furuji Indama, BIFF commanders Basir Kasaran and Nurhassan Jamiri as the leaders of the encountered group in Lamitan City.
Somera said the firefight lasted for about two hours.

In Tipo-Tipo, more or less 50 combined elements of the MNLF and the Abu Sayyaf harassed Valentine Detachment in Barangay Magcawa at around 7:10 p.m. The military responded by firing artillery to the enemy position. No casualty was reported during the incident.

Fontanilla scored the Aquino administration for ignoring MNLF calls for “political players” and international organizations like the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to mediate in the conflict instead of sending soldiers in Zamboanga City and other affected areas.

“The government is not listening... this will drag on, and we are ready,” he noted.
“To be able to achieve permanent solution to this, the OIC and the UN should step in,” he added.

Fontanilla said the MNLF wanted a ceasefire in Zamboanga City to pave the way for the release of the hostages but the government ignored such call.

Zamboanga Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar said she contacted Misuari by telephone late Wednesday after three days of trying, and asked him to call off the siege.

She added Misuari told her he had given his men on the ground “a free hand” in deciding their fate.

But Malacañang believes Misuari was behind the ongoing standoff in Zamboanga City.

Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang told a media briefing that reports they have been receiving indicate that Misuari’s group was behind the attack.

“There are many statements that have been attributed to him in the last few weeks, even months, that sometimes they feel convenient... it’s convenient to disown,” Carandang said.

“What we believe is that his faction, his group is behind it. So what he’s saying right now, if he’s really saying that, is not consistent with what we know (had) happened,” he added.

The government also issued an ultimatum to the alleged members of the MNLF holding many hostages in Zamboanga City, saying it is ready to use the full force of the law to end the ongoing standoff and armed men must cooperate immediately.

In a statement, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the government is prepared to exercise its resolve by using force.

“While the government is exhausting all avenues for a peaceful resolution to the situation, let it be clear to those defying us that they should not entertain the illusion that the state will hesitate to use its forces to protect our people,” he stressed.

“Instead, it is time for you to cooperate to resolve this situation peacefully at the soonest possible time,” the Palace official added.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/19104-fighting-spreads-as-palace-warns-nur-s-men-of-use-of-force