Wednesday, December 16, 2015

MILF denies coddling alleged IS sympathizer

From the Manila Bulletin (Dec 16): MILF denies coddling alleged IS sympathizer

Davao City – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has denied providing sanctuary for bandit group leader Mohamad Jaafar Sabiwang Maguid, alias Kumander Tokboy and his men, who are believed to be sympathizers of worldwide terror group Islamic State (IS) and whose camp was overrun by government forces in Barangay Butril in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat last November 26.

This was the denial issued by the MILF side during discussions at the 44th regular meeting of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) that was concluded Tuesday at the Waterfront Insular Hotel here.


Combined military and police forces had tried to serve a warrant on Maguid last November 26 at his known lair in Palimbang but his men decided to shoot it out with authorities, a clash that lasted four hours in Sitio Sinapingan.

When the smoke cleared, eight of Maguid’s men, including a suspected Indonesian bomb maker, lay dead as government troops took down the black flag of IS which flew over the compound and replaced it with the Philippine flag. The group’s leader was, however, able to escape.
 
In a statement, the MILF said the allegations that it was coddling Maguid and his men were “baseless (since) it was also running after Kumander Tokboy,” which the group also considers as “lawless.”

In the meeting were GPH-CCCH chairman Brig. Gen. Glenn Macasero, his MILF counterpart Butch Malang, GPH peace panel member Senen Bacani and International Monitoring Team (IMT-10) head of mission Maj. Gen. Dato Shiekh Mokhsin Shiekh Hassan.

The MILF also manifested its “continuing efforts to resolve reported cases of ‘rido (family feud)’ in Bangsamoro areas through its Task Force on Conflict Resolution Management (TFCRM).”

The GPH-MILF regular meeting also resulted in the issuance of a joint statement on the CCCH’s “continued efforts to end conflicts and curb criminalities in Bangsamoro.”
An improved feedback system, which takes into consideration “coordination protocol” and “prior coordination before the movement of GPH and MILF forces near or within the MILF communities” was also tackled during the meeting.

The GPH and the MILF also agreed to fully cooperate through various ceasefire mechanisms in the protection of vital installations, civilian targets, AFP/PNP personnel and BIAF-MILF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces) members from the attacks of lawless elements.

http://www.mb.com.ph/milf-denies-coddling-alleged-is-sympathizer/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.