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As we said before, things are just getting more and more confusing.
“The commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) 118th Base Command denied involvement in the January 25 clash between rebels and the members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao,” reports Lore Mae L. Andong on ABS-CBNnews.com.
The report noted: “Ustadz Abdulwahid, who is also known as Wahid Tundok, granted ABS-CBN an exclusive interview in a village in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, where a camp of the 118th Base Command is located.”
According to Tundok, he “wanted to clear the air over reports that he and his men were involved in the recent clash between MILF’s 105th Base Command and SAF troopers in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano town.”
Tundok stressed that he directed all his men not to make any move when they heard the heavy exchange of fire on Jan 25.
He related in Filipino, “They asked me, ‘Ustadz? What are those shots we hear?’ I told them, ‘Nobody should go out. Let’s stick together. Let us wait for confirmation or news.”
Tundok said he was later reached by the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the MILF as well as the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to help them talk to those involved and stop the firefight.
In fact, Tundok said he is “puzzled why his name surfaced as among those involved in the firefight.” He reiterated that “he did not have any knowledge on the whereabouts of terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan prior to the operation launched by the SAF commandos.”
The encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan 25 left 44 members of the elite Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) dead. The PNP-SAF troopers had been out to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” and Filipino bomb maker Abdulbasit Usman. Both men had bounties on their heads placed by the U.S. government: US$5 million for Marwan and US$1 million for Usman.
The operation turned bloody when members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said they had to fight back because the PNP-SAF had breached their territory. They alleged that they had not been informed about the operation to get Marwan and Usman. The hostile encounter lasted 11 hours. The MILF lost 18 of their fighters.
Both the government and the MILF are doing currently probes on the Mamsapano encounter to determined what went wrong, as the incident threatens the Bangsamoro peace deal.
