The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has filed a formal compaint with the joint ceasefire committee after a local commander was killed in a police operation last Monday, February 17, in Barangay Madidis, Datu Paglas, Maguindanao.
Von Al Haq, spokesperson of the MILF, said the MILF has informed their counterparts on the government panel of an alleged violation in the ceasefire agreement by security forces.
“There was no coordination. After all, the target is not a notorious criminal. He is a bona fide member of the MILF [and] a farmer in the said town. He is not what they think he is”, Al haq said.
Yusoph Kusain, alias Kumander TMX, was killed by arresting officers composed of members of the Maguindanao police, the Philippine National Police Special Action Force, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, and Special Project Mindanao-Khalifa Islamiya when he attempted to fight back with an M-16 rifle.
Two policemen were wounded in the clash. One of them—identified only as Police Officer 1 Acosta—has reportedly died.
Other reports and sources said Kusain was involved in a series of bombings in central Mindanao. He was also allegedly a member of the MILF-Special Operations Group and of the Al Khobar extortion group as well as being a foreign-trained bomber.
Al Haq denied all these, saying Kusain has a clean record in the organization and had never been part of any atrocities.
Police Senior Superintendent Rodelio Jocson, Maguindanao police director, a warrant of arrest had been issued against Kusain for murder and multiple murder.
Al Haq said that under the peace agreement, the Ad-Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), a cooperative mechanism between the government and the MILF, will respond to criminality and terrorism in areas with MILF presence.
He said AHJAG was not present during the raid and was not informed that Kusain was involved in crimes.
The AHJAG is composed of four members each from the government and the MILF.
Law enforcement in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao is done with coordination between the PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities.
The CCCH has representatives from the government and the MILF and is charged with checking on the implementation of the ceasefire between the two sides
But Police Chief Superintendent Noel Delos Reyes, regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said the police operation was legitimate and no rules of engagement were violated.
“The police team went to the house of the suspect and not [to] the MILF-recognized community. He is a subject of a warrant of arrest and if you have a valid warrant of arrest [against you], no one can prevent our people from performing their sworn duty to enforce the law”, Delos Reyes said.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.