ZAMBOANGA CITY: Muslims versus Muslims — this is mutual annihilation and it must stop.
A senior member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) issued this call yesterday as the group massed for a bigger assault on Abu Sayyaf strongholds in Sulu.
The fighting, which erupted on Sunday morning, has prompted hundreds of villagers to flee their homes in Patikul town, where Abu Sayyaf bandits are believed to be holding Jordanian journalist Baker Abdulla Atyani.
The government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has dispatched relief and health workers to Patikul, while police and military units are moving to prevent the violence from spreading to populated areas.
Habib Mujahab Hashim, a senior member of the MNLF’s central committee and Chairman of the group’s Islamic Command Council, said there was a lull in the fighting yesterday as the guerrillas under Ustadz Habier Malik regrouped in preparation for a bigger offensive.
“If this does not stop, it could lead to mutual annihilation,” Hashim said as he called on MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari to stop the offensive. “The only way out is to talk brother to brother.”
Many MNLF and Abu Sayyaf members are related by blood or marriage along with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday it would not meddle in the hostilities, except to ensure the safety of civilians in the affected areas.
“They have their own agenda,” said Colonel Orlando de Leon, Commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade. “Preventing the resumption of hostilities is hard… any time, it could erupt. What we want to prevent is a spillover.”
AFP hospitals, however, are ready to assist wounded fighters on both sides, De Leon said.
“We are ready to treat the wounded,” he said. “That is provided by international humanitarian law.”
Hashim expressed fears that prolonged hostilities could lead to a serious clan war or rido.
“It’s sad that Muslims are killing fellow Muslims,” Hashim lamented, adding: “We also don’t condone Muslims killing Christians.”
He said he had talked with senior MNLF and Islamic religious leaders to intervene and stop the hostilities, but was told that they would do so only on instructions of Misuari.
“They said any movement to interfere might be perceived as sabotage,” Hashim said.
Misuari reportedly ordered the offensive after the Abu Sayyaf refused to turn over several of its hostages to the MNLF.
On Saturday night the Abu Sayyaf released Filipino television crew members Ramel Vela and Roland Letrero, but not to the MNLF, and refused to hand over Atyani to Malik’s group.
The release of the two Filipino hostages, reportedly in exchange for ransom, prompted the MNLF to attack the Abu Sayyaf’s jungle lairs on Sunday.
Sixteen MNLF fighters have been reported killed, with several of them beheaded, while the group estimates that the Abu Sayyaf has lost 14 men.
Misuari is running as an independent for a fresh term as governor of the ARMM.
In Davao City yesterday, President Aquino emphasised that the government did not give a green light for the MNLF offensive.
“There is no sanction, there is no clearance. They didn’t tell us that they were going to attack the Abu Sayyaf,” he said.
The Philippine Star
