2 soldiers hurt as MILF group occupies Basilan village

ZAMBOANGA CITY--Two soldiers were wounded in a brief firefight with a group of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members in Basilan on Monday after the group allegedly occupied a village in a potential violation of the peace process.

Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway, the Army's 101st Infantry Brigade commander, said the firefight ensued in Barangay Sukaten, Sumisip town after some 20 MILF members fired on the soldiers responding to complaints that the rebels were illegally occupying the village.

Gobway said MILF members arrived in the village on Feb. 26 and installed signage declaring it as an "MILF area," prompting village and municipal officials to issue separate resolutions opposing the group's presence in the barangay.

The presence of the armed MILF members, he said, triggered the evacuation of several families over safety concerns.

Gobway said troops were deployed in the area to compel the MILF members to withdraw.

“What happened was, when the troops moved in, the MILF fired, and two of our soldiers were wounded,” Gobway said, adding that after Monday's clash, the group even grew from 20 to 50 members.

“This is a violation of the normalization process, which prohibits them from expanding their area of temporary stay. They are also prohibited from carrying firearms outside of their area of temporary stay,” the Army official pointed out.

Gobway said a dialogue was held with Hadji Samad, the head of the MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostility (CCCH) in Basilan, to address the problem.

Gobway said he has already sought clearance from higher headquarters to expel the group from the area, describing the situation in Sumisip as "tense".

The MILF and the government signed a peace agreement in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations. (PNA)