Military pours troops into Sulu

From Malaya Business Insight (Sep 2): Military pours troops into Sulu

AN Army battalion has been deployed to Sulu while three more battalions will be sent in the coming weeks as part of efforts to destroy the Abu Sayyaf, a kidnap-for-ransom group notorious for beheading hostages who could not pay ransom.

Operations since last week left 30 Abu Sayyaf bandits dead but the military also suffered heavily, with 15 dead and 10 wounded in clashes last Monday.

President Duterte has vowed to end the Abu Sayyaf, which is keeping 20 foreign and Filipino hostages in the island province, during his administration.

Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the AFP public affairs office, said some 6,500 to 7,000 soldiers are in Sulu, including members of the 63rd Infantry Battalion which arrived in Jolo last Wednesday.

The Abu Sayyaf has only about 480 members, most of them based in Sulu, according to military estimates.

“Our current ballpark figure is 6,500 to 7,000 (soldiers)... Troops are pouring in, troops are adding in,” said Arevalo adding it is the largest deployment against the Abu Sayyaf in recent history.

“It could be considered the biggest deployment in Sulu in recent years following the directive of the commander-in-chief to eliminate (the) bandit ASG,” Arevalo said.

“We are sufficiently numbered to accomplish the mission given by the President,” said Arevalo.

President Duterte on Wednesday night urged the public to be on alert as he warned of possible “retribution” from the Abu Sayyaf because of the intensified government campaign.

But he assured the public that government can surpass the capabilities of the Abu Sayyaf, including their firepower.

“So bantay kayo because we are hitting them (ASG) hard. I expect some kind of retribution also from them, their reprisal, but just keep your cool... What you can dish out, I can do better, 10 times, may army ako, may eroplano, wala sila (Abu Sayyaf),” he said.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, Armed Forces spokesman, said troops have been shelling known Abu Sayyaf positions not only in Sulu but also in Basilan.

“They keep on bombarding the enemy. The morale of the troops is high. The required artillery support or fire support that our operating troops are requesting are provided. We also have adequate air and naval support,” he said.

A military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said troops are looking forward to another major encounter with the Abu Sayyaf “but the enemy is avoiding us.”

“We are trying to box them in, we are trying to corner them,” the source said.

Arevalo, citing initial information from the field, said operations are also ongoing in the towns of Maimbung and Indanan in Sulu but there are “no significant results yet.”

Army chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año said three more Army battalions are to be deployed to Sulu “within a few days.” “We are conducting focused operations (in Sulu),” he said.

A battalion is composed of around 500 men.

“This is part of our planning earlier,” said Año when asked if the deployment was an offshoot of the huge number of fatalities last Monday. “The target is to destroy the Abu Sayyaf the soonest possible time,” he said.

Año also said the military will assess if more troops need to be deployed after the arrival of the three battalions.

Año said the Army’s 1st Infantry Division based in Zamboanga del Sur is investigating how the Monday clashes led to 15 fatalities.

The military traditionally conducts probes on encounters that result in large number of casualties on its personnel.

“What happened there was that many soldiers were hit in the initial burst of fire (from the Abu Sayyaf). At that time, it was nearing night time so our troops had difficulty maneuvering,” said Año.

The encounter involved troops of the 35th and 21st IBs against about 120 Abu Sayyaf men under Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron. The 15 slain soldiers are all from the 35th IB.

A military source said the soldiers were on the lower ground, making them vulnerable to gunfire from the enemy who were on the vantage position.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/military-pours-troops-sulu