Six Dead, 300 Held Hostage as Govt Troops Clashes with MNLF Rebels

Six people dead and 24 wounded while hostages reached 300 as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters continues its standoff with government soldiers since 4:00 am Monday in Zamboanga City.

Zamboanga mayor Beng Climaco has said in a statement that since the MNLF attack at 4:00 am Monday, Zamboanga City Police has reported six people killed: one policeman, one navy personnel and four civilians. The statement also said 24 were wounded in the encounter between government troops and the MNLF.

Reports said the encounter happened after government troops blocked the MNLF rebels from marching into Zamboanga City  to raise their flag at a city hall according to a military spokesman.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the MNLF fighters have taken 230 hostages in Barangay Santa Catalina, 50 in Barangay Santa Barbara, and 20 in Barangay Talon-Talon.

“One of their (MNLF) tactics is to hold hostages, for them (to) use as leverage. They’re surrounded here. On the negotiation, the priority now is for the safe release of the hostages,” Zagala said.

Mayor Climaco has said the city government is “mobilizing all resources” to address the situation stemming from the “infiltration” of the MNLF in the city’s coastal barangays, particularly Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara, Talon-Talon and Mampang.

Abdul Sahrin, secretary general of the MNLF, has placed the blame on the faction of Nur Misuari for carrying out the said attack. Nur Misuari is a former MNLF leader who previously entered into a peace pact with the Philippine government.

He is also the former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) who made a call last August for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

Reports said the pre-dawn attack later reached Rio Hondo while the residents slept, prompting several residents to flee. The rebels took up hostages to thwart government forces, reports said.

Reports continued that at least 600 evacuees from Arena Blanco and Rio Hondo were brought to the city grandstand, and 847 at Tetuan Central School and Tetuan Parish Church. Some were sheltered at the Talon-Talon National High School.

Mayor Climaco has also ordered all schools and offices to remain closed. Work has also been suspended and flights cancelled. The city has reportedly enforced a curfew later on Monday.

President Benigno Aquino III has sent DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista to Zamboanga City to help diffuse the tension in the city after the pre-dawn attack by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The MNLF earlier claimed it was being left out in government’s negotiations with another rebel faction, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which broke away from the MNLF in the early 1980s.

Source: Al Jazeera.Net, Gma news Tv