Clashes erupt anew in Lanao

ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews/10 March) -- Sporadic clashes between government soldiers and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have broken out since Friday in remote villages in the adjacent towns of Munai, Lanao del Norte and Madalum, Lanao del Sur, killing one rebel and wounding yet another rebel and a soldier.


A certain Pfc. Bug-os of the 43rd Infantry Battalion based in Munai was evacuated for medication Saturday. The unidentified slain rebel was buried by elements of the 43IB under Lt. Col. Juvymax Uy.

Col. Benito de Leon, chief of the 104th Infantry Brigade, told MindaNews that his soldiers spotted rebels in their camouflage uniforms massing up in Munai.

He said that the rebels are members of the group of MILF commander Abdurahman Macapaar a.k.a. Bravo, whose movements are closely monitored since the standing mandate to capture MILF leaders who led the attack in two municipalities of Lanao del Norte August last year.

“Everybody knows that the hunt for the lawless elements continues,” De Leon said.

The military then pounded rebel positions with artilleries as attack helicopters hovered above Friday and Saturday last week. [More at MindaNews]