Renegade Moro bandits at it again.
Hours
after the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law was submitted by Malacanang to Congress,
renegade Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) tried anew but failed to
retake its former stronghold in Maguindanao by harassing government forces.
Alert
government forces repulsed the attempt of the guerillas to take over Army
positions.
No
one was hurt on government forces when BIFF, armed with assault rifles and
rifle grenades, simultaneously attacked Army bases in Midsayap, North Cotabato .
But
the series of gun bursts caused widespread panic among residents in surrounding
villages.
The
soldiers manning the detachments in Midsayap’s Barangays Polomogen and Baliki,
and another near Barangay Indatun in Northern Kabuntalan ,
Maguindanao managed to drive the attacking bandits away after heavy exchanges
of gunfire.
Col.
Dickson Hermoso, speaking for the 6th Infantry Division, could not say whether
the attack was related to the submission of draft BBL to Congress Wednesday.
He
said the harassment started early Wednesday night until dawn Thursday.
“But
the incident triggered panic among peasant families in surrounding areas,”
Hermoso said.
Hermoso
said the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion, which has jurisdiction over Midsayap
and Northern Kabuntalan towns, deployed more
combatants in the detachments that came under fire to forestall a repeat of the
BIFF incursions.
Abu
Misry Mama, spokesman of the BIFF, confirmed to reporters that their forces
were indeed responsible for the latest attacks in the two towns.
But
local officials said the BIFF attacks were meant to show the group’s opposition
to the on-going peace efforts of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front.
The
BIFF is not covered by the government-MILF 1997 Agreement on General Cessation
of Hostilities.
The
group, which is fighting for an Islamic state, is opposed to the creation of a
Bangsamoro self-governing entity based on the final peace accord between the
government and the MILF, the March 27, 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on
Bangsamoro.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=682992
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