The spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Tuesday the massacre by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) of civilians - including women and children enroute to a celebration of the end of Ramadan - is of utmost concern in terms of security, as the number of fatalities rose to 25.
This developed even as Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto, Commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade, on Tuesday belied speculations tending to point at an apparent failure of security intelligence regarding the massacre of 25 civilians and wounding of 13 others.
"This was the offshoot of a rido, or clan feud, involving the family of a certain Pisih," Pinto added. "The two sides were at loggerheads, including even brothers who happened to take opposing sides. I just can't go into the details right now."
Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs head, said the AFP is closely monitoring the seeming breakdown of security in Sulu.
"This is truly very alarming because the last thing we [do not] want is that the community will lose confidence in the peace environment, especially what we're working hard for in Sulu for the past few decades," Zagala said.
He said that authorities “have stepped up operations and pursuit operations to ensure this is not repeated, and that our people’s confidence [in their government’s ability to protect them] is not damaged by this incident. It’s very important we sustain these operations.”
His statement came amid talks that the military top brass is considering relieving Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto as commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade. Pinto also holds the title of commander of the Special Operations Task Force Sulu.
Earlier, Pinto reported that 21 people, mostly women and children, had died and 13 more children wounded when an ASG unit ambushed civilians in Barangay Upper Talipao about 8:30 a.m. Monday in Sulu.
But on Tuesday, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police director Chief Supt. Noel delos Reyes said the number of dead rose to 25 after some of the wounded succumbed to their injuries.
The victims along with 10 unarmed members of the Barangay Police Assistance Team (BPAT) were riding two vehicles enroute to a place where they will celebrate the end of Ramadan when ambushed by Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Pinto had said earlier that rido (bloody family/clan feud) could be behind the attack.
The Marine brigade had in past weeks pursued intelligence-driven operations against the ASG since almost a dozen soldiers were killed in an attack on a Marine detachment recently.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/92192/sulu-security-breakdown-alarms-afp-as-dead-from-asg-ambush-now-25
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