THE military
claimed to have reduced the strength of the extremist Bangsamoro Islamic
Freedom Fighters by half as it ended a month-long offensive that has already
caused the dislocation of more than 120,000 residents of Mindanao .
“We have
accounted for 139 enemies killed, 53 wounded and 12 captured,” AFP chief of
staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang said on Monday.
“They are now
splintered into small groups to evade the pursuing soldiers,” Catapang said,
adding that the military will continue mopping-up operations against the
smaller groups while the government undertakes development projects in areas
that used to be controlled by the BIFF.
“Effective (March
30), the all-out offensive against the BIFF would be ended,” he added of the
operations that started February 25.
But he stressed
the military will continue to pursue the extremists who have fled to the
highlands and the Liguasan Marsh.
“We are now
entering the new phase of our operation which is peace and development. I want
to emphasize that still, we will continuously deploy forces to secure
communities and deny the BIFF entry into their former enclaves in Maguindanao,”
Catapang said.
Catapang said
that the military will coordinate with the regional government of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the province of Maguindanao
“Now that we have
driven out the armed BIFF members and the small group of terrorists led by
Basit Usman, we will focus our attention in rebuilding the affected
communities,” he said.
“We will help the
LGUs, other government agencies, and the national government as a whole in
delivering public services to the people. We will support the implementation of
development projects that are intended to spur the economic activities in these
areas,” he added.
Catapang said the
military sympathizes with the people who were affected by the offensive and the
military will help local government in building Maguindanao, which bore the
brunt of the operations, into a highly-developed area where people enjoy peace,
progress and prosperity.
“We understand
the physical and emotional challenges experienced by the non-combatants who
were among those who were adversely affected by the armed conflict with the BIFF,”
he said .
“It is very
important to note that from as high as 120,000 evacuees last month, they are
now down to about 90,000 people who have remained in various evacuation centers
and houses of relatives.
According to the
Automous Region in Muslim Mindanao Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team
(ARMM-HEART), a total of 17,956 families, or 91,602 people, are still living in
79 evacuation centers in 13 municipalities in Maguindanao.
But this was
already down from 20,030 families, or 102,005 people, who were reported to have
been dislocated as of March 26. Up to 25,000 families or 124,000 individuals
were displaced at the height of the conflict.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/03/31/military-strength-of-biff-halved/
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