MILF rebels ready vs. AFP offensive in BasilanMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters are ready to defend themselves should government troops attack their stronghold in Basilan province, officials of the rebel group warned yesterday.
Tension in Basilan between MILF rebels and government forces has gripped following a bloody gun battle Tuesday in Al-barka (Tipo-Tipo) that left 14 marines killed, ten of them beheaded, and 9 wounded.
A report posted at Luwaran.com disclosed the rebels suffered at least 4 dead and seven wounded in the fighting. It said the rebels destroyed two 6x6 military vehicles and captured assorted high-powered firearms from the marines.
"We will defend ourselves in Basilan in the face of impending major offensive by government forces as a result of the 'beheading' of 11 Marines after the July 10 encounter," said Khaled Musa, MILF committee on information vice chairman.
For his part, Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, said that if government forces start their offensive, they would see that there are men in the area ready to fight by all means necessary.
"They are ready to die and have prepared to defend themselves," Kabalu said. "We do hope that they will not be pushed further because any provocations from military will lead to dire consequences."
According to Musa, the massing of troops by the government is another display of blatant disregard of the existing ceasefire between the MILF and the government.
He accused the government of deliberately luring the MILF into the firefight last Tuesday, citing violations of the truce such as massing or deployment of troops, without coordination and entering known MILF bailiwick.
He urged the Philippine government to observe restraint in launching punitive military actions against the "beheaders" of the priest, saying there is really need to distinguish who were responsible and who are innocent.
"Collective punishment is not a good option for the government, because so many innocent people would be affected or even killed or wounded," he stressed.
But military blamed the MILF for the incident, saying marine troops were returning to their camp when they were ambushed by more or less 300 armed men, including members of the Abu Sayyaf group.
Lieutenant General Eugenio Cedo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said troops from the 1st Marine Brigade were deployed to the area purposely to verify a tip-off that Fr. Giancarlo Bossi was being held in the hinterlands of Tipo-Tipo.
"Apparently, their (marine troops) purpose of going into the area turned negative. The informant was not able to give them the exact location," Cedo told reporters in an interview last Saturday.
Troops of the 1st Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) from Sulu have been deployed to Basilan. They arrived Saturday in Maluso town to augment troops preparing for the major military operation in Tipo-Tipo.
The deployement came after President Arroyo ordered the military to hunt down those who perpetrated the brutal killings of marines, who were searching for the kidnapped Italian Catholic priest, who has been held captive more than one month already.
The military tagged rogue MILF members as behind the June 10 abduction of Fr. Bossi in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay. Intelligence reports said that he was already turned over by captors to a kidnap-for-ransom group (KFRG) in Basilan.
Tension in Basilan between MILF rebels and government forces has gripped following a bloody gun battle Tuesday in Al-barka (Tipo-Tipo) that left 14 marines killed, ten of them beheaded, and 9 wounded.
A report posted at Luwaran.com disclosed the rebels suffered at least 4 dead and seven wounded in the fighting. It said the rebels destroyed two 6x6 military vehicles and captured assorted high-powered firearms from the marines.
"We will defend ourselves in Basilan in the face of impending major offensive by government forces as a result of the 'beheading' of 11 Marines after the July 10 encounter," said Khaled Musa, MILF committee on information vice chairman.
For his part, Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, said that if government forces start their offensive, they would see that there are men in the area ready to fight by all means necessary.
"They are ready to die and have prepared to defend themselves," Kabalu said. "We do hope that they will not be pushed further because any provocations from military will lead to dire consequences."
According to Musa, the massing of troops by the government is another display of blatant disregard of the existing ceasefire between the MILF and the government.
He accused the government of deliberately luring the MILF into the firefight last Tuesday, citing violations of the truce such as massing or deployment of troops, without coordination and entering known MILF bailiwick.
He urged the Philippine government to observe restraint in launching punitive military actions against the "beheaders" of the priest, saying there is really need to distinguish who were responsible and who are innocent.
"Collective punishment is not a good option for the government, because so many innocent people would be affected or even killed or wounded," he stressed.
But military blamed the MILF for the incident, saying marine troops were returning to their camp when they were ambushed by more or less 300 armed men, including members of the Abu Sayyaf group.
Lieutenant General Eugenio Cedo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said troops from the 1st Marine Brigade were deployed to the area purposely to verify a tip-off that Fr. Giancarlo Bossi was being held in the hinterlands of Tipo-Tipo.
"Apparently, their (marine troops) purpose of going into the area turned negative. The informant was not able to give them the exact location," Cedo told reporters in an interview last Saturday.
Troops of the 1st Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) from Sulu have been deployed to Basilan. They arrived Saturday in Maluso town to augment troops preparing for the major military operation in Tipo-Tipo.
The deployement came after President Arroyo ordered the military to hunt down those who perpetrated the brutal killings of marines, who were searching for the kidnapped Italian Catholic priest, who has been held captive more than one month already.
The military tagged rogue MILF members as behind the June 10 abduction of Fr. Bossi in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay. Intelligence reports said that he was already turned over by captors to a kidnap-for-ransom group (KFRG) in Basilan.
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