Yt Framework

The off-and-on armed clashes between two rival groups within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have prompted the government to call on both sides to stop the infighting immediately because it is affecting the ceasefire agreement.

Brig. Gen. Ariel Bernardo, chair of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), said they have filed a strong protest to the ceasefire violations perpetrated by the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces-Moro Islamic Liberation Front (BIAF-MILF) and its rival group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The two rival groups clashed on Wednesday along the boundaries of Barangays Damablas of Datu Piang and Ganta of Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao province, wounding a 15-year-old girl and affecting 730 families who fled from their homes to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) has received the report about the latest fighting.

Bernardo reiterated the government’s call to stop the infighting between the two Moro groups. “I appeal to the BIAF-MILF and the BIFF to bring an end to their organizational dispute,” he said. “They are clearly going against the ceasefire agreement.”

The government and the MILF signed the Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities in 1997 to avoid confrontational situations between their forces.

“Again, we are urging our counterparts in the MILF-CCCH to exert efforts to look into these ceasefire violations and enforce disciplinary action to the violators,” Bernardo said.

The GPH-CCCH reported that the fighting is again between the elements of the BIAF-MILF 106th Base Command led by Commander Meds Sambolawan and the Umra Kato-founded BIFF headed by Hasan Indal.

Firefight erupted when BIFF troops ambushed the group of Sambolawan who just came from a meeting with BIAF Commander Adzmie Kasim in Barangay Alonganen, Datu Piang.

Sambolawan’s group was reportedly passing through the area when Indal’s troops opened fire.

The initial fighting started at 6:30 a.m. and lasted until 9 a.m. on Wednesday. However, another clash erupted an hour later and ended at around 7 p.m. One was killed and another was wounded on the side of the 106th BC while two BIFF fighters were also killed.

A 15-year-old girl studying at Ganta Elementary School was hit by a stray bullet while her family was fleeing from the scene of the fighting.

Last month, the same MILF rival groups clashed because of rido or family feud between Adzmie and BIFF Commander Abunawas over a six-hectare agricultural land.

However, the rido has been transformed into an organizational fight between the 106th BC, BIAF–MILF and the BIFF.

Some 730 displaced families from Sitios Patawali, Didagen, Maitem and Ampayong, all of Barangay Ganta, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao have evacuated to Ganta Elementary School in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, while others evacuated to Penditen, Datu Salibo and Datu Piang.

By Ben Cal - PNA