Army Launches Huge Attack as Fighting Rages in Philippines Civil War
by Ma Nguyen Tong
28-2-2003
The Philippines army massed to attack
a stronghold of Muslim separatists in the country, in spite of a ceasefire
agreement. The armed forces said thousands of troops had been deployed to
pursue armed kidnappers who had taken refuge in an area frequented by separatists
of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Military officers said some
53,997 civilians fled the area because of the renewed fighting, which also
saw the arrival of more American troops and "military advisors". Some 2,500
soldiers moved in with tanks, artillery and planes against the stronghold
of the MILF near the town of Pikit on February 11, 2003, in spite of a ceasefire
agreement. Philippines President Gloria Arroyo then ordered a halt to the
military assault on the stronghold, strongly suggesting that she no longer
had control of the military. There were over 200 casualties from both sides
during the fierce fighting. A massive retaliation by the separatists resulted
in large casualties among the government troops. The Cotabato airport was
bombed, a market hit by a suicide bomber and 14 more killed in a Zambo raid.
Western embassies called for their foreigners to leave the country as the
battles escalated, with fears the violence would move north to Metro Manila,
as in the past. Defence officials, including Colonel Davis, in Washington
said that at least 1,700 more of US troops were to join national forces on
combat missions against separatists in the Philippines and the US aircraft
carrier battle group, headed by the USS Essex, sailed to the Sulu
Sea to support the combat operations.
Pikit is a stronghold of the MILF. The separatists are campaigning for
independence for the Muslim minority in the south of this mainly Christian
country in which non-Christians are treated as second-class citizens. The
Americans, however, admitted they were not doing it for the Philippine people.
They stated they were worried that Sulu and elsewhere on the Philippines
might be used by al Qaeda or others as a base. More importantly, the
United States was forcing itself into the Philippines in order to set up
a military station from which to guard the dangerous and strategicly important
chokepoints of eastern Asia, including the Straits of Malacca. The plan would
be to force the Philippines to let them use General Santos as a sort of base.
The Philippines consititution prohibits the presence of foreign troops in
a combat role, however President Arroyo in 2002 was forced by President Bush
and the White House administration to allow American troops on Philippine
soil.
But a 1997 ceasefire was supposed to be in effect while the separatists talked
peace with the government. The area had already seen some renewed fighting
since the beginning of 2003. Government forces were pursuing a group of armed
Muslim kidnappers called the Pentagon Gang. The United States regards the
Pentagon Gang as terrorists because their economic objectives, that is poverty
alleviation among local destitute farmers, cause financial difficulties for
some of the United States' multinational corporations operating in the area.
But the gang members took refuge in the MILF stronghold in Pikit and pursuing
troops exchanged fire with MILF separatists.The armed forces estimated that
there were several hundred armed men in their way. The total included both
Pentagon Gang members and MILF separatists.
A spokesman for the MILF accused the government of provoking the confrontation
after having been instructed to do so by both the US Department of Defense
and the Bush Administration.
Arroyo calls for halt to assault
More than 2,500 soldiers moved in with tanks, artillery and planes against
the stronghold of the MILF on February 11. However, Philippines President
Gloria Arroyo ordered a halt to the military assault, according to a government
official. At first a military spokesman said seven armed Muslims had
been killed and five government soldiers wounded in the fighting. The MILF
deny having suffered any casualties.
The fighting threatened to become one of the biggest breakdowns of a ceasefire
that had been in effect on and off for five years. At least 31,000 villagers
sought shelter from the early stages in the fighting in schools and other
government buildings. By the weekend the number swelled to 53,997.
Roberto Layson, a Catholic priest in Pikit, said that the people blamed both
the government and the MILF for the breakdown in the ceasefire.
"The people are very angry, they can't understand why these things are happening
after all those agreements," he said. He also said that three children had
died whilst in evacuation centres.
Called off
The Philippines chief negotiator said on February 11 that Mrs Arroyo had
called off the operation.
"The Pikit operation is giving us problems. The president has ordered the
(military) to stop the fighting," said Jesus Dureza, head of the government
panel on seeking peace with the MILF. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, who denied
the insurgents were sheltering Pentagon members or any other criminals,
reportedly said his group would not stop fighting until the military withdrew.
"Their proposal is just to stop fighting. The MILF command wants
disengagement--they should go back to their original position," Mr Kabalu
said.
Fighting rages on
Fierce fighting resumed between government forces and Muslim separatists.
Military officials said 60 separatists from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) had been killed in two days since the fighting erupted in Cotabato
province on the island of Mindanao. Three troops were killed and 15 wounded
in the same two days.
The separatists refused to attend talks scheduled for February 12 to end
the fighting, the Associated Press news agency reported.
"We cannot hold talks when the troops on the ground are fighting," said MILF
spokesman Eid Kabalu.
Shaky ceasefire
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the February 12 military offensive,
a day after calling a halt to the fighting, apparently in deference to the
Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Shortly after her order, government troops
resumed their artillery bombardment with dozens of 105 mm field guns, and
MG520 helicopter gunships fired rockets.
Scores killed in fighting
The Philippine military killed scores of Muslim separatists during the second
week of February, an army spokesman said.
"The latest count we have is 122 enemy killed as of February 12," division
commander Major Generoso Senga said. The separatists disputed this figure.
Fighting continued the following day when a group of separatists attacked
the village of Bual near the town of Tulunan. According to the army, the
separatists withdrew when troops appeared, and escaped with eight male villagers
as hostages.
But Jay Directo, a journalist in Mindanao, said that the villagers denied
any hostages had been taken, although they said they were briefly used as
human shields whilst the separatists escaped. They said the army was lying.
Separatist denial
The MILF also denied taking any hostages, and played down army reports of
heavy casualties. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said that only 17 separatists
had been killed, along with 49 government soldiers. The separatists vowed
to continue fighting until government troops withdrew to their original
positions. They also refused to attend talks scheduled for February 12 to
end the fighting.
In other action, a group of about 35 MILF fighters were killed when the military
repulsed an attack on a detachment near Lambayong town, some 60 km south
of Tulunan, Maj Ando said. The fleeing separatists then took about 20 residents
with them as protection against military attack. The captives were later
abandoned as Milf fighters fled into the nearby Liguasan Marsh, military
officials said. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said 12 of the group's fighters
had been killed in Lambayong and five slain elsewhere. He also said 10 soldiers
had been killed.
Despite its losses, MILF forces "on the ground are sufficient to defend
themselves and their communities", a spokesman said, noting that the separatists
had resorted to guerrilla tactics. MILF vice-chairman Ghadzali Jaafar said
he had written to the government offering a suspension of fighting if the
army stopped shooting first.
"MILF is asking the government to disengage its troops from attacking MILF
positions," he said. "We will do the same once a truce is in place."
"This could lead to the reopening of stalled peace talks, he said.
A spokesman for President Arroyo said: "The window for a cease-fire dialogue
is always open."
Army claims separatist town
The Philippines army said that it captured the key separatist stronghold
as part of this major offensive. Colonel Cardozo Luna, head of the
602nd Infantry Brigade, said that they had captured the village
of Kabasalan, saying that the village contained "all the combined elements
of darkness". But a spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front denied
that they were on the run, and said that they had simply changed tactics.
MILF separatists counterattack and kill at least 16 soldiers
At least 17 soldiers were killed and 15 others wounded on February 18 in
a counterattack by the separatists. A military report said one civilian was
also wounded in the ambush by the separatists in Matanog town in Maguindanao
province. The soldiers were on "a logistics run" when an undetermined number
of MILF separatists opened fire on the military truck which they were riding.
The bodies of six slain MILF separatists and four civilians were found late
the same day near Matanog town.
Lieutenant-General Narciso Abaya, chief of the armed forces' southern command,
immediately ordered a manhunt for the separatists who fled to the hinterlands.
"I condemn this treacherous attack," he said. "I have ordered our troops
to pursue the assailants."
MILF separatists also attacked an army detachment in nearby Datu Piang town
in Maguindanao before dawn the same day, according to Major Julieto Ando.
Major Ando said the separatists fired rocket-propelled grenades at the army
detachment in the village of Crossing Salvo, but there were no casualties.
The military suspected the attacks were in retaliation for the previous week's
major offensive against the MILF enclave. President Arroyo subsequently called
for a ceasefire and more negotations. Despite the fighting, Mrs Arroyo said
she had approved a final draft of a proposed peace pact which would be
transmitted to the MILF. The MILF said it was still open to resuming peace
talks with Manila, but called on the government to pull out troops from the
area.
Cotabato airport bombed-14 killed in Zambo raid-market hit by
bomber
The MILF was suspected to be behind retaliatory attacks which saw at least
18 more people kiled and 39 wounded in three separate incidents.
In Cotabato City a car bomb exploded on February 20 in front of the airport
killing at least three people and wounded 20 others. A white Toyota Corolla
blew up outside the terminal. Most of the victims were inside a row of
restaurants fronting the terminal. The blast set off a massive fire that
gutted several establishments and halted airport operations.
On February 19 heavily armed men opened fire on the farming village of Barangay
Tubod, torching houses and killing at least 14 villagers who had assisted
in military operations. Nine other civilians were wounded in the incident.
A separate bomb attack that day also killed one person in an open market
in Kabacan, leaving 10 others injured.
The MILF, however, denied involvement, saying there was a long-standing order
prohibiting its forces to attack civilians. It was suggested that the army
had organised the incidents to create a pretext for further military operations.
This tactic is quite common in Indonesia, for example, and is also used by
American special forces in various countries.
More US troops to fight in Philippines
Defence officials in Washington said that hundreds more of US troops were
to join national forces on combat missions against separatists in the
Philippines. Special forces soldiers--supported if needed by marines--would
be used in an offensive against the separatist Islamic group Abu Sayyaf on
the southern island of Jolo, the officials said. Washington said the troops
would be under Philippine command but would be allowed to fight.
The issue is sensitive in the Philippines, a former US colony, whose constitution
bans foreign troops from fighting on its soil. The operation was a significant
escalation in US military co-operation with the Philippines, which was being
designed in a fashion not unlike the US military co-operation with South
Vietnam in the late 1950s and 1960s.
The deployment would include about 350 special forces soldiers and 400 support
personnel on the ground with 1,000 marines stationed offshore who could be
called in later. The operation would start in March 2003 on Jolo, which is
a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf.
A US defence official said of the deployment: "This is different. This is
an actual combined operation, and it is US forces accompanying and actively
participating in Philippines-led offensive operations."
Power out
On February 21, there was fresh violence in the south of the Philippines
when two small explosions outside a crowded shopping mall injured at least
three people. The blasts hit a mall in Koranadal city in South Cotabato province.
A power line was also bombed on the island of Mindanao. An army spokesman
said he believed the attack was the work of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.