'Child soldiers' were among the dead BIFF fighters, military claims

From InterAksyon (Jan 29): 'Child soldiers' were among the dead BIFF fighters, military claims



Ameril Umbra Kato, BIFF leader, seen here in file photo, has been urged to surrender and get help from government health facilities for his reported ailments. In this week's series of skirmishes between soldiers and the BIFF, the military claimed the former had recruited child soldiers, some of whom were among the dead.

The needless violence is bad enough; but now, the military claims that ‘child soldiers’ were among the fatalities on the side of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) that engaged government forces in fighting since the weekend’s signing of final annexes to a peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

On the military side, one soldier was killed and 7 wounded, Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said on Wednesday.

“May mga child soldiers dun na may dala-dalang mga baril at naka-uniporme sa 37 na patay [There were child soldiers there whose bodies were found, bearing arms and wearing conbatants’ uniforms] ,” said Hermoso.

The military is seeking the help of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other local and international organizations working for children’s rights to help them investigate the BIFF for using “child soldiers.” He estimated their ages to be between 14 and 17 of age. “Because of this, we condemn to the highest level the BIFF for using children in forwarding their criminal acts,” Hermoso said.

He could not give, for the meantime, the exact number of  “child soldiers” killed in the series of firefight against the BIFF., but stressed that their presence was “confirmed on the ground” and that freshly dug graves were found. “We just quickly counted the bodies because we cannot dig them up….in deference to the Muslim tradition [and we might hurt sensitivities].”

Since Monday, mortar shelling by the AFP, using 105mm Howitzer cannons on enemy positions, has been ongoing in Barangay Ganta, Sharif Saidona Mustapha and Barangay Damablas, Datu Piang, both in Maguindanao, Hermoso said. These are strongholds of the BIFF where most of the fatalities were found.

He said the BIFF had also sent out small teams to do bombings in selected towns to distract the military and police. He said they were tipped off that at dawn Wednesday, “two vehicles loaded with armed men” along the stretch of the Guindulan Highway in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao had been sighted. The men on board then set up a roadblock in Barangay Kabingi, and moved a small hut by the roadside to the middle of the highway in order to block traffic.

Responding government troops arrived and flushed them out. Bomb squads later found and defused some landmines planted by the BIFF. No casualty was reported on either side.

A day before the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the Annex on Normalization, the BIFF mounted attacks on government positions as soldiers and policemen were serving arrest warrants on some BIFF personalities in Maguindanao and North Cotabato.

The BIFF is a splinter group of the MILF led by Ameril Umbra Kato, who was expelled for not supporting the peace talks.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/79705/child-soldiers-were-among-the-dead-biff-fighters-military-claims