[In the news] Were slain troops sent to get the wrong man? – InterAksyon.com

ANALYSIS: Were slain troops sent to get the wrong man? by Romy Elusfa, InterAksyon.com KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – With strident calls for all-out war and equally loud appeals for sobriety and peace in the wake of last week’s clash in Al Barka, Basilan that cost the lives of 19 Special Forces troops and at least…

Human Rights Online Philippines

November 1, 2011

2–3 minutes

Abu Sayyaf, Al Barka, Al-Barka Basilan, Basilan, Ceasefire, MILF, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Philippine

ANALYSIS: Were slain troops sent to get the wrong man?
by Romy Elusfa, InterAksyon.com

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – With strident calls for all-out war and equally loud appeals for sobriety and peace in the wake of last week’s clash in Al Barka, Basilan that cost the lives of 19 Special Forces troops and at least five fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, questions have begun to be asked about why the incident happened and why the soldiers were there in the first place.

The MILF accused the soldiers of instigating hostilities by encroaching on its “area of temporary stay” and deliberately targeting them for attack.

But the military said the troops were not after the MILF but one Haji Laksaw Dan Asnawi, one of those accused in the killing of 14 Marines, 10 of whom were also beheaded, in 2007, also in Al Barka, as well as one Nurhassan Jamiri. The military also claimed the fighting took place four kilometers from the MILF’s ATS.

Asnawi had, in fact, been arrested earlier for his alleged role in the Marine beheadings but escaped from jail in late 2009.

So who are Asnawi and Jamiri?

Asnawi is an MILF commander, one the rebel leadership earlier described as among their “best” in Basilan.

Jamiri, on the other hand, is a commander of the Abu Sayyaf.

Under the terms of a ceasefire agreement between the government and MILF, military or police units are not supposed to enter defined rebel territory without prior coordination. And , while the military insists the troops in Al Barka were on a “police” and not a military mission, the ceasefire agreement provides a mechanism for operations against crime suspects within MILF territory – the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group.

Read full article @ www.interaksyon.com