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Zamboanga Siege 2013; MNLF attacks Zamboanga City
Topic Started: Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:28 pm (3,838 Views)
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MIRIAM: ENRILE BEHIND ZAMBO ATTACKS

"Enrile is so desperate that he is like a crocodile, who has left his maritime kingdom and is flapping around on land, still hoping to kill his prey. I am morally convinced of his culpability in trashing the COA and its chair, as well as in engulfing Zamboanga City in an expensive rebellion." -- Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago

http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2013/0926_santiago3.asp
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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THE CHILDREN OF STA. BARBARA

by Patricia Evangelista, RAPPLER.COM Webpage

Quote:
 
It is not the life Sheila wants, even if they are not hungry here. She would like to eat without standing in line for 4 hours, to bathe when she is dirty and cook when a child is hungry. The rain at night soaks the babies, she and her husband take turns sweeping the water out from the tent.

They are told they can return home maybe in December. She strokes her belly and shakes her head. December is too far away. She wants to go home, but there is no house to go return to. The towns of Sta. Catalina and Sta. Barbara have been razed to the ground. She talks about a group of 8 that left the evacuation center to go home. They are all dead now, she says.

Today, she is told she may give birth. She has no name yet. Perhaps she will call her "evacuate."


FULL STORY http://www.rappler.com/nation/39906-the-children-of-sta-barbara


- i learned more about how hard life is down there now
- i enjoyed reading the article too, learned a lot

Edited by Flipzi, Fri Sep 27, 2013 12:42 am.
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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Government troops wearing gas masks against the stench of dead bodies maneuver against MNLF rebels still holed out in Zamboanga City. (photo by Frederick Alvarez, AFP)

Day 19: More MNLF men captured, but still no trace of Malik
By: Jaime Sinapit, InterAksyon.com
September 27, 2013 12:50 PM

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA - Authorities on Friday reported the arrest of six more fighters of the Nur Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), but the ground commander of the 19-day siege of Zamboanga City, Habier Malik, is still nowhere to be found as fighting resumed.

Malik is still inside the “constriction” area, per the military's assessment, amid reports that the rebel leader had escaped to Sulu.

The six MNLF fighters were arrested during close-quarter-battle with government forces in Barangay Sta. Barbara, a day after public affairs head Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala reported the capture of 45 MNLF fighters in Barangay Sta. Catalina.

A woman MNLF commander from Zamboanga Sibugay, 69-year-old Misba Baladji, was among those arrested.

Baladji said they surrendered because they had sustained a lot of injuries and because of hunger. She claimed they were promised by Misuari P15,000 each to fight for their “independence” in Zamboanga.

As fighting rages, reports said elite forces from the Army and Philippine National Police (PNP) recaptured Friday morning the Sumatra area in Barangay Talon-Talon and some parts of the “constricted” areas in Barangay Sta. Catalina, particularly Lustre Street.

Helicopter gunships of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) continue to unleash rockets and machinegun fires on the mangrove where some MNLF rebels took refuge and continue their resistance in Barangay Talon-Talon.

Reports said the MNLF continues to burn more houses, buildings and structures in the affected villages, from where over 100,000 people have fled since the siege began at dawn of Sept. 9.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/71621/day-19-more-mnlf-men-captured-but-still-no-trace-of-malik


Related news:

MNLF forces leader Habier Malik hurt
Quote:
 
Ustadz Habier Malik, the leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces fighting with government troops in Zamboanga City, was reportedly hurt in a recent clash, a military official said Friday.

Armed Forces acting public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said the information was relayed by former hostages and an MNLF member who surrendered to authorities.

Malik, the top lieutenant of MNLF founder Nur Misuari, reportedly sustained a bullet wound on the hand during a recent clash in Barangay Sta. Catalina.

“The report about Malik sustaining a wound came from the revelations of one of his former colleagues and the hostages. None of our soldiers saw it,” Cabunoc said in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo.

“We want to validate this. He was reportedly hit on the hand but he is continuously fighting. He reportedly refused to surrender,” he added.

Cabunoc said they have been receiving several information about Malik but some of them were unverified.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/09/27/1238847/mnlf-commander-malik-wounded


15 MNLF members killed in latest clash
By Roel Pareño (philstar.com) | Updated September 27, 2013 - 6:05pm

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - At least 15 Misuari-led members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were killed in a encounter against the marine forces conducting clearing operations Friday dawn in a sector of conflict zone in this city, a security official confirmed.

The fresh rebels’ fatalities and brought its dead toll to 166 rebels killed and 271 captured as the clearing operations progressed Friday afternoon.

The combined elements of the 23rd and 33rd Marine Companies penetrated the section of ruins inside Sitio Bugok, Barangay Sta. Catalina and engaged the rebels in tactical combat and sniping operation.

At least 15 were confirmed killed in that operation under the operation sector of the marines,” said Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, designated spokesman of the ongoing government forces operations here.

But the ground marine forces disclosed there could be about 20 of the rebels killed in the encounter as some of the bodies and firearms of the slain rebels have been recovered.

Zagala said no one from the marines was reported killed in the fresh engagement.

The fresh rebel fatalities have added to the 166 rebels killed and 271 captured by the government forces.

Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, spokesman of police regional office, said the rebels’ fatality figure was based on body counts on site.

The government forces also suffered 23 fatalities and 184 others wounded while at least 12 civilians were killed and 70 others wounded in the conflict.

The area remained closed for any civilian as the government forces declared the place as critical with the presence of the remaining rebels led by Habier Malik.

Military huey choppers hovering the southern skies continued its reconnaissance patrol to spot the rebels who moved into the vast mangrove areas of barangay Mariki as marines and army troops backed by the combat police forces were closing in.

Naval blockade continued on the coast to prevent the rebels from escaping toward the sea.

As this developed, at least three rebels were also captured while hiding in a septic tank.

The rebels were fished out of the septic tank and were brought to the advance command post and subsequent transfer to the city police office for proper documentation.


At least 204 of the rebels have already been relocated to the prison facility of the Department of Justice in San Ramon Penal Farm outside this city.
Edited by Flipzi, Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:16 pm.
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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The Last MNLF Hostage, an interview [raw]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkym4ARww74

Published on Sep 27, 2013

"I was supposed to be released but some one grabbed me back to help wounded MNLF escape." LH said.

During the interview he said except from having been used as human shield they were treated well. "Malik (referring to the leader Habier Malik) was silent, I never saw him use cellphone. He was not the kind that starts a conversation" he recalled.

In psychiatry, when hostages or kidnap victims become sympathetic of their captor or captors they are said to be suffering a so called Stockholm Syndrome. And LH could be one.


Zamboanga Times

Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
Manila, Philippines
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Zambo crisis over, says Palace

by Janice Cave
MANILA — The three-week long crisis in Zamboanga City is now over, Malacañang said Saturday.

"Certainly, the defense secretary made the announcement and we've always maintained that we're dealing with the situation that it will be the officials on the ground who will be making the announcement based on their assessment," Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview over State-run Radyo ng Bayan, confirming the declaration of Defense Sec. Voltaire Gazmin that the standoff is over but still searching for Commander Habier Malik, the leader of the siege.

Valte said the government has been successful in ensuring the safety of the civilians since the standoff began last Sept 9 when loyal followers of Nur Misuari infiltrated the city supposedly for a peace rally.

"Our task from day one is to ensure the safety of the hostages that were taken... as well as to get civilians out of harm's way and that has already been accomplished," she said.

The military estimates that at least a hundred had been killed from the gunbattle--126 from MNLF, 23 from the military and police and 12 civilians-- between the government troops and MNLF.

The Aquino administration has poured in P3.9 billion for the city's massive rehabilitation program as thousands of families lost their houses and jobs due to the three-week standoff. Billions worth of losses to trade and commerce were also recorded. (PNA)

HBC/JMC

http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/news/76769-Zambo-crisis-over,-says-Palace.html


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photo credit: Spratly Islands (Kapuluan ng Kalayaan) HUWAG PABAYAAN ng PAMAHALAAN!'s Page

Toasted body of MNLF member. Results of air strikes conducted by air force light attack aircraft and attack helicopters. LRB commandos wearing gas mask to endure the foul smell and smoke look on.


PN modern units see action in Zamboanga City

MANILA — Unknown to many, some of the Philippine Navy (PN)'s most modern and fastest units (excluding the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) are now doing blockade and interdiction duty off the Zamboanga City coast where the military is hard at work containing Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters who earlier attacked the area without provocation.

These units are the four speedy multi-purpose assault craft (MPACs) and the BRP Mariano Alvarez (PS-38).

The PN presence off Zamboanga City is placed at 28 naval vessels and two Islander aircraft.

Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, PN spokesperson, earlier said that the MPACs, as proven in the ongoing Zamboanga City operations, are ideal craft for coastal patrol and defense work due to high speed and maneuverability.

Three of the MPACs are sourced from Taiwan while the remaining three were ordered from Filipino shipbuilder Propmech Corporation, which is based in Subic Bay, Zambales.

These ships are 16.5 meters long, 4.76 meters wide and has a draft of one meter and a top speed of 45 knots.

It is capable of carrying 16 fully-equipped troopers or two tons of cargo.

The MPAC is capable of operating in territorial waters up to "Sea State 3" (slight waves) without any system degradation.

It is armed with one .50 caliber and two 7.62mm machine guns.

While the BRP Mariano Alvarez is a Cyclone-class patrol ship acquired from the United States in January 2004.

She was the first vessel of the 10 unit Cyclone class ships which were commissioned between 1992 and 1994.

The ship was rechristened BRP General Mariano Alvarez (PS-38) on March 8, 2004, in honor of a revolutionary general in the Philippine war of independence against Spain.

Operationally, the ship is capable of accelerating from stop to 35 knots (65 kilometer per hour) in under three minutes, then move from full ahead to 15 knots (28 kilometer per hour) astern in 60 seconds.

In high-speed, hard-over turns, the vessel barely heeled as the automatic stabilizers engaged.

In PN service, the BRP Mariano Alvarez is armed with one Mark 38 Bushmaster 25 mm cannon, one Mark 96 stabilized Bushmaster 25 mm cannon with Mark19 Model3 40 mm automatic grenade launcher, four M2HG Browning 12.7 mm .50 caliber machine guns and two M-60 7.62 mm machine gun. (PNA)

JBP/PFN

http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/news/76760-PN-modern-units-see-action-in-Zamboanga-City.html

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photo credit: oocities.org

Recommended read:

The official website BRP General Mariano Alvarez (PS38)
http://ps38.navy.mil.ph/
Edited by Flipzi, Sat Sep 28, 2013 7:11 pm.
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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Scattered fighting erupts in Zamboanga City
Agence France-Presse
2:27 pm | Sunday, September 29th, 2013


MANILA, Philippines – Government forces hunted the remnants of the Moro National Liberation Front in Zamboanga City Sunday, with residents hearing gunfire a day after the military declared an end to its three-week campaign.

The Army Saturday announced that police were taking over from troops to clear sections of the vital regional trading center of MNLF stragglers.

But just minutes after the military said the threat to Zamboanga was over, soldiers killed three MNLF fighters in a clash that also left six troops wounded.

“What happened was not organized resistance. These are stragglers trying to escape capture,” Zagala told Agence France Presse Sunday, adding that only a handful of rebels remained.

“The mission is completed. We have already neutralised the threat to Zamboanga City.”

Fighters swarmed into the city’s neighborhoods 20 days ago, taking hostages and triggering weeks of violence as they sought to derail peace talks between the government a rival guerrilla rebel faction.

More than 10,000 homes were razed to the ground forcing over 100,000 people — around a tenth of the city’s population — to flee.

The latest clash put the toll at 189 MNLF fighters killed, with 292 captured or surrendering, while 23 soldiers and police and 12 civilians had also been slain.

A total of 195 civilian hostages had been rescued with no more believed to still be in the hands of the gunmen, said Zagala.

The military said Nur Misuari, who founded the MNLF in the early 1970s, had sent hundreds of armed followers led by his top lieutenant Habier Malik, to Zamboanga.

Malik’s identification card had been found on the body of a slain MNLF member, Zagala said, though it was too early to confirm his death and forensic examinations were being carried out.

The conflict area — 30-40 hectares (74-99 acres) of densely packed communities, mangrove swamps and ponds — would take about two weeks to clear of possible MNLF stragglers, unexploded bombs, booby traps and the buried bodies of dead gunmen, he said.

Muslim rebels have been fighting since the 1970s for an independent or autonomous homeland. An estimated 150,000 people have died in the conflict.

The MNLF signed a peace treaty in 1996 that granted limited self-rule to the south’s Muslim minority.

However, the group is opposed to a planned final peace deal between the government and the remaining major Muslim rebel group, the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The MNLF believes the deal could leave it sidelined.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/497493/scattered-fighting-erupts-in-zamboanga-city#ixzz2gHS9XBWO
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
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Special Reports

Misuari's journey: From the burning of Jolo to the siege in Zamboanga

3 parts.


"Why Zamboanga?" she asked. "They know Al Jazeera will be here, they want publicity at the cost of lives!" she said of Nur Misuari and his rebel group.

But more than this, she blamed the peace negotiator who had failed to consider the consequences of diminishing Misuari’s role in the overall agreement with the national government, another piece of this story that is complicated in itself.

The scenario she was seeing had its precedence in 2001, when Misuari rallied his armed men en masse and held hostages who were eventually released in a negotiation that achieved his goal in calling attention to his name, his legend. It happened in the outskirts of the city, sparse of a neighborhood. It was over after two days.

This time around, they were in the middle of the city and in the first hours of the crisis, Beng had feisty words, much like her uncle. But as it came to a standoff that paralyzed her city of nearly a million people, she was near breaking down.

Full Detail: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/328431/news/specialreports/in-the-shadow-of-fort-pilar-anger-and-pain-in-rio-hondo
Edited by Flipzi, Sun Sep 29, 2013 9:02 pm.
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Zamboanga Siege Ends

224 DEAD, 10,164 HOUSES DESTROYED,
118,000 PEOPLE IN EVACUATION CENTERS

By Manny Pinol
www.mannypinol.net

As the government officially announced the end of the Zamboanga City siege staged by rogue members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Nur Misuari, the staggering damage of the attack comes to surface, figures so shocking even to seasoned chroniclers of the Mindanao conflict.

Today, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing the reports of disaster officials placed the official death toll was 224 dead and an undetermined number of people injured and wounded.

A total of 10,164 houses were destroyed or deliberately burned as the retreating MNLF troops tried to slow down military advance, a disaster which sent over 118,000 people to the evacuation centers, according to the PDI report.

Of the dead, 189 were believed members of the MNLF led by Misuari's right-hand man Habier Malik, 23 soldiers and policemen and 12 civlians.

Entire villages in the coastal areas of Zamboanga City were burned down initially by MNLF troops and later by unidentified elements who were suspected by the civilians to be government operators implementing clearing operations.

As soldiers exchanged fire with remaining MNLF members described by the military as "stragglers" yesterday, fire broke out on Puerto Princesa Drive in Talon-Talon village, angering people who had heard about the clearing operations.

The PDI report said some residents were so angry they believed the fire had been deliberately set.

“Tell the government to stop this drama. All of us here are suffering and hurt,” village guard Abnasser Ladja told the Inquirer's Julie Alipala.

Ladja’s two-story house was razed in the fire. His family had provided food for the Special Action Force and Marine troops during the fighting, Alipala reported.

“Is this how the government is repaying us?” Ladja asked.

Another fire broke out in Rio Hondo on Sunday afternoon and like Ladja in Talon-Talon, Jasil Isniradji wondered if the government was out to raze the entire coast, the PDI report added.

Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, said the crushing defeat of the MNLF in Zamboanga City had degraded Misuari’s ability to launch similar attacks in other parts of the country, according to the PDI.

While President Noynoy Aquino deserves praise and plaudits for personally handling the Zamboanga City crisis, Carandang's assessment that government has degraded Misuari's capability to create trouble was received with skepticism.

Independent observers believe that Misuari's actions were just the initial indication of a brewing storm which is being whipped up by other Bangsamoro groups who refused to ride with or left out in the peace negotiations the government is undertaking with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF).

"It is just the beginning of the dangerous days ahead," said one veteran Mindanao observer.

(Photo caption: This Reuter photo shows government troops on top of a Zamboanga City mosque previously used as shelters of the MNLF attackers.)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=524329987649475&set=a.352398594842616.81443.351448724937603&type=1
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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MNLF rebels who surrendered or were caught.

Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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LIFE AT THE EVACUATION CENTER

Source:
Zambotimes.com
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.611491925582348.1073741987.108035559261323&type=3

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More photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.611491925582348.1073741987.108035559261323&type=3

Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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