Gov’t troops fail to meet mop-up ops time targets in Zamboanga

From the Daily Tribune (Oct 14): Gov’t troops fail to meet mop-up ops time targets in Zamboanga

Government security forces have failed to meet the 14-day time frame to complete the ongoing clearing and mopping-up operations in the conflict-affected barangays in Zamboanga City due to flooding that hampered the efforts.

Maj. Franco Alano, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), yesterday said that based on assessment last Thursday, government authorities needed 10 more days to complete their mission.

“It will take another 10 days as of Thursday last week, that was the estimate,” he stressed.

Alano said the Philippine National Police (PNP) is leading the operation.

“We did not meet (the 14-day time frame) for one, there are many areas of operation that were flooded, and we also secure the festivities yesterday (Saturday) and then last Oct. 10 we encountered two stragglers…these are the variables when it comes to the operation,” he added.

The local crisis management committee, headed by Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco, has earlier gave the military and the police 14 days to clear barangays Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara, Rio Hondo, Mariki, Talon-Talon and Mampang.

The six barangays were venue to the 20-day siege laid by around 300 members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) faction of Nur Misuari that started last Sept. 9. The timeframe began Sept. 29 when the government declared the crisis over and it ended Saturday.

The conflict resulted in the killing of 208 MNLF fighters, 20 soldiers, including three junior officers, five policemen and 12 civilians. A total of 195 hostages were rescued.
Alano stressed that some of the areas now being cleared were submerged by up to three feet of flood waters.

As of latest assessment, Alano said the main areas of operation – barangays Rio Hondo and Mariki – are still 50 percent unclear while the second sector – Barangay Sta. Catalina, where flooding was reported – was only 20 percent cleared.

On the possibility of presence of MNLF stragglers, Alanao expressed belief that there would be no more.

“We don’t have estimate as of now but at this point, it is highly unlikely that there would be surviving stragglers within the areas,” he said, citing the two stragglers last encountered looked frail, apparently due to lack of food.

“However, we are not taking any chances, we are still alert. The cordon is still there,” Alano said.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/item/20232-gov-t-troops-fail-to-meet-mop-up-ops-time-targets-in-zamboanga