Google map of Ungkaya Pukan town, Basilan province.
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Fighting between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) backed by lawless elements (LLEs) in Basilan province stopped amid calls for a ceasefire Thursday.
The firefight, occasionally intense and sporadic, began at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when a soldier stationed at a detachment in Barangay Ulitan, Ungkaya Pukan was slightly bruised by sniper fire from an area occupied by MILF members and lawless elements.
“Tahimik na ngayon (It’s quiet now),” Brig. Gen. Arturo Rojas, acting commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said in a text message Thursday afternoon.
The fighting continued until Thursday morning when the gunfight started at 8:15 a.m., according to Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway, the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade commander. “They were the first to fire,” Gobway added citing the firefight was intense.
The gun battle resulted in the death of seven combatants -- three soldiers and four on the MILF/LLEs -- while a dozen others were wounded. Rojas said all three slain soldiers belonged to the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion (18IB).
The 12 wounded Army personnel consisted of nine from the 64IB; two from the 12th Division Reconnaissance Company; and one, a junior officer, from the 18IB.
Rojas said an undetermined number of MILF members were also believed wounded during the clashes.
“We are currently employing ceasefire mechanisms to pacify the situation. We appeal to the public not to spread gossip and unvalidated information in order not to aggravate the situation,” he said.
Rojas said his primary order to the troops is to protect the integrity of the peace process and abide by the ceasefire agreement. The Philippine government and MILF signed a peace agreement on March 17, 2014 at Malacañang Palace in Manila.
Ungkaya Pukan Mayor Jomar Maturan, one of those who called for a ceasefire, said 1,480 families fled their homes and sought refuge in safer places. (PNA)
