Exactly a month after the Jan. 25 bloody Mamasapano clash in Maguindanao, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. ordered an all-out offensive operation against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
Catapang said he intends to protect the communities in Mindanao against the armed attacks by the BIFF.
"I am saddened by the news that at least 20,000 people had been displaced by the violent attacks perpetrated by the BIFF in the hinterland villages. We will do our best to protect the people and allow them to go back to their homes," he said.
Forty-four elite policemen died during the clash with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, along with its splinter group, the BIFF.
The troopers were then on a mission to arrest Malaysian terrorist Zulkifi bin Hir alias Marwan of Jemaah Islamiyah and Filipino bomb maker and Abu Sayyaf member Basit Usman.
The elite police men managed to kill Marwan, but Usman, BIFF's Special Operations Group head and a member of Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah, had escaped.
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