Troops build access roads in area once influenced by ASG in Sulu

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 14, 2022): Troops build access roads in area once influenced by ASG in Sulu (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)

ROAD TO PEACE. Government troops open a two-kilometer road connecting Barangay Bud Bunga to Barangay Upper Sinumaan, Talipao, Sulu, in coordination with the provincial government. In a statement Thursday (April 14, 2022), the Army's 2nd Special Forces Battalion said its troops are also rehabilitating the five kilometer road that connects Upper Sinumaan and Lower Sinumaan, which are former Abu Sayyaf Group-influenced areas. (Photo courtesy of the 6th Special Forces Company)

Government troops mobilized their resources to open a new road and rehabilitate existing but non-passable road networks in an area previously influenced by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

Capt. Ron Villarosa, commander of the 6th Special Forces Company, said Thursday the two-kilometer road projects connecting Barangay Bud Bunga to Barangay Upper Sinumaan in Talipao, Sulu, is part of the Community Support Program of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion (2SFBn).

In a statement, Villarosa said the opening and rehabilitation of the roads with the assistance of the Army’s 545th Engineer Battalion and 12th Civil-Military Operation Battalion solved the decades-old accessibility problem in the area.

As a counterpart, the provincial government of Sulu provided 10,000 liters of diesel fuel.

“It's passable now although finishing touches are still being done,” Villarosa said in a separate text message Thursday.

The Army official said they are rehabilitating a five-kilometer road that connects Barangay Upper Sinumaan and Barangay Lower Sinumaan.

Villarosa said they are undertaking the road projects with caution, noting that ASG fighters lurk just around 500 meters from the project.

He also underscored the importance of the road projects in enabling the troops to "dominate the operational area," allowing the military to rapidly deploy troops within minutes.

Earlier, he said government forces would take two to three days' hike to reach Bud Bunga, Upper Sinumaan and Lower Sinumaan. These areas are located at the foot of Mount Sinumaan, site of some of the most intense armed encounters in Talipao.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172236