Tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes in the southern Philippines as the military steps up its offensive against Abu Sayyaf fighters, sparking the heaviest clashes for years.
The fighting is centred on the mainly Muslim islands of Jolo and Basilan.
On Thursday Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippine president, travelled amid tight security to the southern city of Zamboanga to rally troops and receive a progress briefing from military commanders.
She has vowed to destroy the Abu Sayyaf group - which her government says has links to al-Qaeda – and has deployed thousands of troops to the region.
They are backed up by advisers from US special forces who are helping to train and provide intelligence to Philippine forces although they are barred by the Philippine constitution from taking part in combat operations.
Bomb warning
Earlier this week, Arroyo warned that the renewed military offensive may spark reprisal bomb attacks elsewhere in the country.
Her comments on Tuesday were followed hours later by a bomb explosion in Zamboanga that wounded 14 people.
Speaking after her arrival in the city on Thursday, Arroyo said the military would not be diverted from in its assault on the Abu Sayyaf group.
However, she said she had ordered officials to launch a "humanitarian offensive'' on Basilan and Jolo to balance the military assault.
Later, speaking on the island of Basilan, she praised Philippine troops during a 30 minute flying visit to one of the military's forward bases.
"Thank you for fighting terrorism," she told them.
The upsurge in fighting followed an ambush in mid-July, blamed on the Abu Sayyaf, in which 14 marines died, 10 of them beheaded.
In early August, gun battles in Jolo killed at least 27 army soldiers and 32 Muslim fighters.
The most recent fighting broke out last weekend on Basilan, with 15 soldiers and up to 30 Abu Sayyaf fighters killed.
Relief officials say the fighting has forced nearly 24,000 people to flee their homes in Jolo and Basilan, with 40 hamlets evacuated and 14 schools closed since early July.
"The situation in Basilan remains critical due to ongoing operations against Abu Sayyaf Group targets," the government relief agency said.
This week the government called off planned peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front - the largest Muslim separatist group - although it insists the move was not linked to the upsurge in fighting.
Questions asked
Al Jazeera's Veronica Pedrosa, who is in the southern Philippines, says that with amid mounting numbers of casualties and displaced civilians, more questions are being asked about the offensive.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Force, the two main rebel groups, also have a large presence on the two islands.
The military says neither group is being targeted by the current offensive, but army commanders on the ground admit some of their men are fighting alongside Abu Sayyaf.
As a result, there are fears that by stepping up the fight against Abu Sayyaf, the government could widen the conflict.
Showing posts with label MILF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MILF. Show all posts
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Philippines' Arroyo says offensive against militants in south may prompt attacks elsewhere
A military offensive in the southern Philippines may prompt al-Qaida-linked militants to sow terror elsewhere in the country, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo warned Tuesday, saying she has ordered the military and police to bolster security.
The government will not ease off the offensive despite calls from some sectors to halt the fighting because doing so would endanger the country's security, fail to give justice to slain soldiers and embolden terrorists, she said in her opening statement at a meeting of the National Security Council.
U.S.-backed troops bombarded Muslim rebel strongholds with artillery on Basilan island Sunday, a day after 15 marines and 40 militants were killed in a fierce clash, officials said.
The marines were killed when their unit attacked a jungle hide-out of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group near Basilan's remote Ungkaya Pukan town, sparking a daylong clash during which an air force pilot also died when his helicopter crashed at sea, the military said.
The military claimed about 40 Abu Sayyaf insurgents were killed, including two commanders who allegedly took part in last month's beheadings of 10 marines on Basilan.
On nearby Jolo island, troops raided a suspected Abu Sayyaf safe house in Indanan township early Sunday and took into custody 19 men, women and children, army Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael said. After questioning, 14 were released and investigators were trying to determine if the other five were Abu Sayyaf gunmen, he added.
"With the victory of our troops and police against terrorists in Basilan and Sulu, it is not farfetched for them to attempt to sow terror in other parts of the country," Arroyo said. "That is why I have ordered our national police and armed forces to coordinate with local governments and the people to safeguard our cities and communities against any terrorist plot.
"We will not back off from our offensive in order to give justice to our marines, to give peace and progress to our country," she said, urging Filipinos to unite behind security forces.
But the government will continue to pursue peace in the south and hopes to resume talks with a larger Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, next month in Malaysia, she said.
MILF chief negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal said a scheduled meeting with government counterparts on Wednesday was canceled for unclear reasons.
Chief government negotiator Rodolfo Garcia said he sought the postponement to give him more time to consolidate data and the government's position.
Arroyo ordered a fresh offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, listed by Washington as a terrorist organization, after it was implicated in the July 10 beheadings of 10 marines after a clash in Basilan's Al-Barka township. The MILF admitted its rebels killed 14 marines during the clash, accusing them of encroaching into a rebel stronghold, but denied involvement in the beheadings.
The government will not ease off the offensive despite calls from some sectors to halt the fighting because doing so would endanger the country's security, fail to give justice to slain soldiers and embolden terrorists, she said in her opening statement at a meeting of the National Security Council.
U.S.-backed troops bombarded Muslim rebel strongholds with artillery on Basilan island Sunday, a day after 15 marines and 40 militants were killed in a fierce clash, officials said.
The marines were killed when their unit attacked a jungle hide-out of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group near Basilan's remote Ungkaya Pukan town, sparking a daylong clash during which an air force pilot also died when his helicopter crashed at sea, the military said.
The military claimed about 40 Abu Sayyaf insurgents were killed, including two commanders who allegedly took part in last month's beheadings of 10 marines on Basilan.
On nearby Jolo island, troops raided a suspected Abu Sayyaf safe house in Indanan township early Sunday and took into custody 19 men, women and children, army Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael said. After questioning, 14 were released and investigators were trying to determine if the other five were Abu Sayyaf gunmen, he added.
"With the victory of our troops and police against terrorists in Basilan and Sulu, it is not farfetched for them to attempt to sow terror in other parts of the country," Arroyo said. "That is why I have ordered our national police and armed forces to coordinate with local governments and the people to safeguard our cities and communities against any terrorist plot.
"We will not back off from our offensive in order to give justice to our marines, to give peace and progress to our country," she said, urging Filipinos to unite behind security forces.
But the government will continue to pursue peace in the south and hopes to resume talks with a larger Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, next month in Malaysia, she said.
MILF chief negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal said a scheduled meeting with government counterparts on Wednesday was canceled for unclear reasons.
Chief government negotiator Rodolfo Garcia said he sought the postponement to give him more time to consolidate data and the government's position.
Arroyo ordered a fresh offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, listed by Washington as a terrorist organization, after it was implicated in the July 10 beheadings of 10 marines after a clash in Basilan's Al-Barka township. The MILF admitted its rebels killed 14 marines during the clash, accusing them of encroaching into a rebel stronghold, but denied involvement in the beheadings.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Fighting in Southern Philippines Kills at Least 20 Soldiers
Philippine military officials say fighting between Muslim rebels and government forces on a southern island has killed at least 20 soldiers.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed a convoy of troops Thursday, killing at least 10 soldiers and wounding two others. The attack took place near the town of Maimbung, on the southern island of Jolo.
Another 10 soldiers were killed later in the day during a gunbattle, also near Maimbung.
The clashes are the latest in a recent wave of violence in the southern Philippines.
Troops have been massing in the southern part of the country since early July when 14 marines were killed on the nearby island of Basilan. Ten of them were beheaded.
The military and government have blamed Abu Sayyaf and another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), for the beheadings.
The United States considers Abu Sayyaf a terrorist group with ties to the radical Jemaah Islamiyah organization. Philippine forces have been on the offensive against Abu Sayyaf since 2005, fighting primarily on the island of Jolo.
The MILF has been fighting for self-rule on Basilan for nearly three decades. In 2003, the government signed a truce agreement with the group, but clashes continue.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed a convoy of troops Thursday, killing at least 10 soldiers and wounding two others. The attack took place near the town of Maimbung, on the southern island of Jolo.
Another 10 soldiers were killed later in the day during a gunbattle, also near Maimbung.
The clashes are the latest in a recent wave of violence in the southern Philippines.
Troops have been massing in the southern part of the country since early July when 14 marines were killed on the nearby island of Basilan. Ten of them were beheaded.
The military and government have blamed Abu Sayyaf and another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), for the beheadings.
The United States considers Abu Sayyaf a terrorist group with ties to the radical Jemaah Islamiyah organization. Philippine forces have been on the offensive against Abu Sayyaf since 2005, fighting primarily on the island of Jolo.
The MILF has been fighting for self-rule on Basilan for nearly three decades. In 2003, the government signed a truce agreement with the group, but clashes continue.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Muslim rebels defy army ultimatum
Muslim guerrillas said they would defy a military ultimatum to surrender rebels who killed 14 Philippine marines, and braced Sunday for war, which both sides acknowledge would imperil already-shaky Malaysian-brokered peace talks.
The military announced on Saturday that it had been authorized by the National Security Council to launch "punitive actions" against Moro Islamic Liberation Front insurgents who attacked a marine convoy searching for a kidnapped Italian priest on July 10 on southern Basilan island.
Ten of the marines were found beheaded - an act condemned as barbaric by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the military.
The military announced on Saturday that it had been authorized by the National Security Council to launch "punitive actions" against Moro Islamic Liberation Front insurgents who attacked a marine convoy searching for a kidnapped Italian priest on July 10 on southern Basilan island.
Ten of the marines were found beheaded - an act condemned as barbaric by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the military.
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