Philippine military bombs Moro rebels

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network, Manila | Tue, 10/25/2011 9:17 AM

The Armed Forces of the Philippines mounted an air and ground assault on a suspected position of a breakaway faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) following a series of rebel attacks that left at least 33 people dead, the military announced.

In the first Philippine Air Force (PAF) strikes ordered by the Aquino administration following widespread indignation at the massacre of 19 soldiers last week in Basilan, two OV-10 attack planes bombed a remote village on the edge of Payao town in Zamboanga Sibugay.

"The bombing attacks began at 11:30 a.m. today," Maj. Harold Cabunoc told reporters. "About 100 heavily armed bandits are holed up in their bunkers and running trenches."

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the military said about 3,000 civilians had already fled the area last week.

He said a combined contingent of 200 police and military commandos on the ground were also involved in the operation.

The regional military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, said the gunmen targeted by the air strikes were rogue MILF rebels who were involved in kidnapping and other criminal activities.

The air strikes were the first against the MILF since 2008, when the military also used aircraft to bombard followers of two rebel commanders who had launched deadly raids across Mindanao that left about 400 dead, Cabangbang said.

"This is the first time since 2008, but I would like to stress the (rebels) we are after are operating outside the control of the MILF leadership," he told Agence France-Presse.

The same group of rebels was blamed for ambushes that killed four soldiers and four policemen on Thursday.

Those rebel attacks came just two days after 19 Special Forces members were gunned down by MILF fighters after they strayed into rebel territory in Al-Barka on Basilan Island.

Five rubber plantation workers and two soldiers were killed in separate attacks on Sunday, while 200 rebels also occupied two elementary schools in remote farming villages, stealing cattle and harassing residents.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines mounted an air and ground assault on a suspected position of a breakaway faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) following a series of rebel attacks that left at least 33 people dead, the military announced.

In the first Philippine Air Force (PAF) strikes ordered by the Aquino administration following widespread indignation at the massacre of 19 soldiers last week in Basilan, two OV-10 attack planes bombed a remote village on the edge of Payao town in Zamboanga Sibugay.

"The bombing attacks began at 11:30 a.m. today," Maj. Harold Cabunoc told reporters. "About 100 heavily armed bandits are holed up in their bunkers and running trenches."

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the military said about 3,000 civilians had already fled the area last week.

He said a combined contingent of 200 police and military commandos on the ground were also involved in the operation.

The regional military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, said the gunmen targeted by the air strikes were rogue MILF rebels who were involved in kidnapping and other criminal activities.

The air strikes were the first against the MILF since 2008, when the military also used aircraft to bombard followers of two rebel commanders who had launched deadly raids across Mindanao that left about 400 dead, Cabangbang said.

"This is the first time since 2008, but I would like to stress the (rebels) we are after are operating outside the control of the MILF leadership," he told Agence France-Presse.

The same group of rebels was blamed for ambushes that killed four soldiers and four policemen on Thursday.

Those rebel attacks came just two days after 19 Special Forces members were gunned down by MILF fighters after they strayed into rebel territory in Al-Barka on Basilan Island.

Five rubber plantation workers and two soldiers were killed in separate attacks on Sunday, while 200 rebels also occupied two elementary schools in remote farming villages, stealing cattle and harassing residents.

'Lawless elements'

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr.  said in a press briefing Monday night in Camp Aguinaldo that an operation in Basilan was targeting “lawless elements,” avoiding mentioning the MILF which has assumed responsibility for the ambush in Al-Barka.

"We have crafted a deliberate and calibrated response, we just have to couple this with good intelligence work," said Oban who faced reporters for the first time since the ambush.

But he reiterated that the military would uphold the ceasefire agreement with the MILF, which required the government to "coordinate" any armed operation in recognized MILF camps.
When asked if troops would pursue the targets inside the MILF "area of temporary stay" in Al-Barka, Oban replied: "As long as they are lawless elements, we will pursue them wherever they are."

"The pursuit is a clear directive of the President. We were given an instruction to pursue lawless elements. That is the directive. We have to give appropriate resources towards that end," he said.

MILF hits operation

MILF spokesperson Von Al Haq denounced the military operations as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

"There are hard-headed people inside the military. With this new action, they are making the situation worse," he said, adding that innocent people were put at risk.

He insisted that any move against MILF forces facing criminal cases should be directed to the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities.

The air strikes happened as the International Monitoring Team and other peace groups were on their way to Zamboanga Sibugay to investigate the weekend incidents, according to Al Haq.

Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer, head of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said in a statement the military and police would continue joint operations in Zamboanga Sibugay against the MILF faction of  Waning Abdulsalam, which was blamed for the killings of eight soldiers and policemen.

Ferrer said Abdulsalam “should be brought to justice for all the past kidnappings and extortions done by him and his group. The clamor of the people from Zamboanga Sibugay is to end Abdulsalam’s notoriety,” said the Westmincom chief.

4,000 flee homes

The attacks in Zamboanga Sibugay happened just two days after the 19 soldiers were killed in Al-Barka town in Basilan province. The troops were in Al-Barka to arrest a local MILF commander, Dan Ansawi, when they clashed with rebel forces.

Officials said some 1,200 families, or at least 4,000 individuals, had fled their homes in Al-Barka. Basilan Vice Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul led the distribution of relief supplies to the evacuees sheltering with their relatives or scattered on roadsides.

Taha Katoh, the chairman of Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Cooperative Inc., said Abu Sayyaf bandits, not MILF troops, ambushed and killed five of its workers on Sunday after extortion demands of P50,000 monthly were ignored.

During the meeting of the government-MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) on Saturday in Davao City, the military demanded that the MILF surrender a commander, Laksaw-Dan Asnawi, and five of his men who led the ambush in Al-Barka.

The military also demanded that the MILF surrender Abu Sayyaf leaders Furuji Indama and Long Malat who were believed to be in the MILF’s custody and who were also involved in the ambush in Al-Barka.
The military also demanded that the MILF turn over Abdulsalam, a notorious kidnap gang leader who is the target of the ongoing military offensives in Zamboanga Sibugay, and Putot Jakaria and Ogis Jakaria who have pending murder cases.

Peace mechanism

In an interview, Brigadier General Ariel Bernardo, head of the government panel in the CCCH, said the military would coordinate with their counterparts and continue to respect the peace negotiations.

"They are amenable to using the peace mechanism," Bernardo replied when asked for the MILF’s reaction. When asked what the military would do if the MILF would refuse to comply, he said: "Let’s not speculate because these things are under the joint agreement."

"We will not go in there unilaterally…The target has to be clearly identified. You cannot wage war with everyone. We’ll be guided by the AHJAG teams," Bernardo said.

Colonel Arnulfo Burgos, the AFP spokesperson, said the military wanted the MILF to turn over the wanted rebels "as soon as possible, otherwise the military will pursue them within the framework of the peace mechanism."

Vice President Jejomar Binay said the government should review the ceasefire agreement to ensure that those behind last week’s attacks were brought to justice.

"What I can tell you is that there will be a lot more action coming from the President," he said.

Senator Gregorio Honasan said hot pursuit should be raised as part of the government’s “automatic procedural response” against perpetrators of attacks.

"Let’s not view this in the context of the peace negotiations. (The massacre) was a violation of the ceasefire," he said. 

With reports from AFP; Julie S. Alipala and Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao; and Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Philip C. Tubeza and Cathy Yamsuan in Manila.

Libyan rebels reject role for Gadhafi sons

Christopher Torchia and Alessander Rizzo, The Associated Press, Istanbul | Tue, 04/05/2011 8:13 AM | World

A diplomatic push by Moammar Gadhafi's regime ran into trouble Monday as opponents at home and abroad rejected any solution to the Libyan conflict that would involve one of his sons taking power.

While a Gadhafi envoy lobbied diplomats in European capitals, Italy became the third nation to declare that the rebels' interim council in Libya is the only legitimate voice for the people of the North African nation.

The diplomatic whirlwind could signal a softening of his regime's hardline public stance against any compromise that would end the fighting and steer Libya toward a political resolution.

Any long-term settlement poses tough questions about the fate of Gadhafi's family and the new leader of a post-Gadhafi nation.

Some of Gadhafi's adversaries quickly rejected the idea that any of his powerful sons, some of whom command militias accused of attacks on civilians, might play a transitional leadership role that would undoubtedly protect the family's vast economic interests.

Gadhafi, who took power in a 1969 coup, has a legacy of brutality and involvement in terrorism but was able to prolong his rule and even emerge from pariah status over the past decade with the help of Libya's immense oil wealth. Potential rivals to the eccentric leader were sidelined during four decades of harsh rule based on personal and tribal loyalties that undermined the army and other national institutions.

In Rome, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini welcomed Ali al-Essawi, the foreign envoy of the Libyan National Transitional Council, which was hastily set up in the eastern, rebel-held city of Benghazi as the uprising against Gadhafi began in February.

"We have decided to recognize the council as the only political, legitimate interlocutor to represent Libya," Frattini told reporters. He said he will send an envoy to Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, in the coming days.

Frattini also insisted that Gadhafi and his family must go.

"Any solution for the future of Libya has a precondition: that Gadhafi's regime leaves ... that Gadhafi himself and the family leave the country," Frattini said.

Italy is the third country, after France and Qatar, to give diplomatic recognition to the rebel council, despite international concerns about the unity, origin and ultimate intentions of the opposition. Its leaders have said they are committed to democratic reform, but U.S. lawmakers have cautioned that the allies need to know more about them before providing them with any weapons to fight Gadhafi's forces.

Al-Essawi said one possible idea - replacing Gadhafi with one of his sons - was unacceptable.

In Benghazi, opposition spokeswoman Iman Bughaigis also said the rebels would not accept any solution that included Gadhafi or his sons.

"This war has shown everyone and the world that Gadhafi's sons are no different from him," Bughaigis said. "They are two sides of the same coin. Gadhafi has been waging a war on our people with the help of his sons' militias and mercenarie, so we see no difference between them. There is no way to negotiate with this regime."

In Washington, U.S. officials said they had no information about a plan involving Gadhafi transferring power to one of his sons.

"Ultimately it's not something that the U.S. needs to decide," said State Departmen spokesman Mark Toner. He also indicated that the U.S. was not yet ready to recognize the Libyan opposition, though he said "we continue to advise them and communicate with them regularly."

The New York Times reported Monday that two of Gadhafi's sons are proposing a solution in hich one of them, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, would take over from his father and steer the country toward a constitutional democracy. The newspaper cited a diplomat and a Libyan official who were briefed on the plan, and reported that it was unclear whether Gadhafi himself supported the proposal.

Seif has culvated reformist credentials in the West for years and had been seen as a likely successor who might usher some degree of change into the tightly controlled country. After Libya's uprising, however, Seif denounced protesters in a finger-wagging appearance on state television, calling them drug addicts and warng of civil war.

For many Libyans, that performance linked him irrevocably with his father despite a sophisticated veneer that included study at the London School of Economics and a doctorate. In 2008, Seif traveled to the United States and met then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as part of Libya's grdual campaign to rejoin the international community after years of isolation.

On Monday, a Libyan government envoy, Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi, held talks with senior Turkish officials in the Turkish capital, Ankara. The Turkish embassy remains open in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, and the officials plan to meet Lbyan opposition leaders in the next few days.

Turkey's NTV television cited al-Obeidi as telling Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that the Libyan government wants to see a quick end to the fighting.

Turkey has previously suggested that Gadhafi step down after appointing a transitional figure who can begin a reconciliation process.

"We will do our best for the pain to end and to bring about a road map that meets the demands of the Libyan people, including a political change," Davutoglu said.

Al-Obeidi, a former Libyan prime minister, also planned to travel to Malta. On Sunday, he was in Greece, where he told the prime minister that Gadhafi was seeking a way out of the crisis.

A Greek Foreign Ministry official said the idea of Gadhafi leaving or staying "was not an issue of discussion" during the talks Sunday night.

"They want to negotiate and are willing to speak of a political solution," said the official, who asked for anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks.

But Italy's Frattini, who spoke with Greece's foreign minister, said al-Obeidi's proposals were "not credible."

At U.N. headquarters in New York, the secretary-general's special envoy to Libya, Abdelilah Al-Khatib, who visited Tripoli on March 31 and Benghazi on April 1, reiterated that Libyan authorities were willing to accept a cease-fire.

He told the Security Council that opposition leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil insisted that Gadhafi first must leave, his forces must withdraw and the Libyan people must be allowed to express their opinions freely - conditions the government reportedly rejected.

In Benghazi, he said the opposition provided him with their "vision of a democratic Libya" whose top priority "is to restore constitutional legitimacy through a referendum."

"It outlines their principals and obligations of political democracy, calling for economic prosperity and development, use of science and technology to enhance society, and condemning intolerance, extremism and violence," he said. It also calls for international justice, respect for all treaties and agreements, and "peaceful coexistence between nations and peoples."

Al-Khatib said he is prepared to travel to Libya again if required.

"At this time, it is still very difficult to know how long it will take for the Libyan conflict to be resolved," he said. "However, responsibility for finding a solution lies with the Libyan people themselves."

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Rizzo reported from Rome. Associated Press Writers Paisley Dodds and David Stringer in London, Ben Hubbard in Benghazi, Matthew Lee in Washington, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Angela Charlton in Paris, Don Melvin in Brussels and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.