Philippine Military Put Up P1-M bounty for MNLF Commander Ustadz Habier Malik in Sulu (tags)
The Philippine military is offering a P1-million reward for the capture of National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander Ustadz Habier Malik who has been leading clashes against government troops in Sulu for a week now. Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said Malik, who has some 300 to 500 armed followers, has joined the Abu Sayyaf terrorists, the target of a separate massive military offensive. "We should be very careful about this because definitely there is a group that would try to exploit the situation, at least the Abu Sayyaf," he said. "Let us be very clear," he said. "This is not an operation against the MNLF. This is an operation against Habier Malik so that he will be made to answer for his criminal liabilities, including the death of a child."
War in Mindanao :Palace, AFP reject OIC call for ceasefire in Sulu (tags)
Manila-- Malacañang is giving full support to the military offensive against renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces in Sulu, which entered its fourth day of fierce fighting yesterday. While the government acknowledges the appeal of the 47-nation Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to disengage forces, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said there must be an assurance against further attacks from the renegade forces. Nearly 8,500 families ( 40,000 people)have fled the fighting and thousands crammed into schools and gymnasiums in downtown Jolo, relying on food rations from disaster agencies. The mass evacuations are a bitter development for conflict-scarred residents, who had hoped Jolo was becoming a more stable place after a long-running military campaign to rid the island of scores of Islamic militants.
8,000 families displaced in Sulu fighting; OIC steps in (tags)
More than 8,000 families ( 40,000 people)have fled their homes as Marines and Army troops hunted down renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander Habier Malik and his men, who have killed 12 people in Sulu. For three days now, thousands of troops have been sent to Sulu to run after Malik’s band after he escaped when the military captured his sprawling hilltop encampment in Panamao, Sulu on Sunday. Reports said several MNLF commanders, along with an undetermined number of fighters from the towns of Pata, Daungdong and Capual in Sulu, are now fighting alongside Malik.