Rogue MILF members have splintered to smaller groups, says military

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have reportedly splintered into small groups capable of carrying out terror attacks in Mindanao, said Lt. Gen. Alexander B. Yano, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. "The semi-conventional aspect of the operation is almost through, meaning (the rogue MILF members) no longer confront us in big formations. They are now trying to disperse, they are now on the run, trying to splinter, but we are still pursuing them," Gen Yano told BusinessWorld. The military has earlier overrun the several camps of the targeted commanders in North Cotabato, and in the Lanao provinces. Brig. Gen. Jorge Segovia, the military’s spokesman for the campaign against the targeted MILF rebels, said "the lawless MILF groups will resort to terrorism, and continue hostile actions against predominantly Christian-dominated areas in Mindanao to sow fear among the populace and to divert the attention of pursuing government troops." "They will intensify their propaganda and disinformation in order to achieve to project that they are gaining grounds despite the debacles in the ongoing military operation; second is to show the chaotic situation to gain international sympathy and affection and will request for a third party intervention, and third is to portray the government as a human rights violator," he added. He said by and large, the security situation in Mindanao is still volatile as lawless MILF groups are still capable of conducting hostilities in target areas. The hostilities started in some parts in Mindanao following the failure of the signing of the territory deal between the government and Moro rebels. Disgruntled commanders led the atrocities even without the blessing of the leadership of the MILF. With the conflict, the government eventually abandoned the ancestral domain agreement, which the two parties have earlier initialed, shifting its approach to disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation. The government has also disbanded it peace negotiation panel but the MILF said this is internal to the government reiterating further that it will not surrender its commanders since they are not bound to do so based in their signed agreement with the government. — Darwin T. Wee, BusinessWorld