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January 21, 2006
Philippines: Truce With Islamists On Jolo
The island of Jolo, in the maritime province of Sulu in the southwest of the Philippines, has recentlly been the scene of an insurgency by Islamist rebels. The current insurgency began on November 11, when an army patrol became ambushed near the village of Buwansa by about 400 armed rebels.
The rebels comprised members of the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf, led by the one-armed and horse-riding Radullan Sahiron, joined by breakaway members of the Moro National Liberation front, or MNLF. These individuals were supporters of a former leader of MNLF, called Nur Misuari. In November 2001, he had ordered or allowed an attack upon an army base in Jolo and then became a fugitive in Malaysia, thence deported back to the Philippines, where he is currently in jail. The 2001 Jolo raid happened in spite of a peace deal which had been signed on August 30, 1996, brokered by Indonesia.
At least nine soldiers have been killed since the conflict began, though their casualties were worst at the beginning. The initial skirmishes cost the lives of four soldiers in the first weekend. So far, about 40 soldiers have been injured.
Casualties for the insurgents are far higher - on 25 November, 15 were killed in a single day's exchanges of gunfire. As the bodies of dead and injured rebels are carried off into the jungle, clear figures of rebel dead and injured are unknown.
Today, Reuters AlertNet announces that the rebel members of MNLF who have been fighting on the island have negotiated a peace deal.
Yesterday (Fri 20), Brigadier-General Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, most senior marine commander in the southern Philippines, delivered a letter to MNLF Islamist rebels at a secret location in the jungle. The letter was written by Nur Misuari from a police camp outside Manila, the capital, on January 8.
"All MNLF forces should be advised to stay put in their camps to avoid untoward incident," the letter read.
Misuari was a former professor of political science before he became a rebel leader. His voice is still respected within the MNLF. He still contributes speeches and sermons on the group's website, despite being incarcerated for the past four years.
Habir Malik, one of Misuari's senior lieutenants who evaded capture during a manhunt last year, said that "We'll have to abide by the chairman's directive."
The bearer of Misauri's letter, Brigadier General Dolorfino (a convert to Islam) stated after the agreement: "With the cooperation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), we see only one problem left -- the Abu Sayyaf."
Abu Sayyaf will be less easy to reason with. Their methods veer between terrorism and banditry. Sahiron rules Jolo as his fiefdom, where he has the sobriquet "Robin Hood", and has been involved with kidnappings of tourists, and has decapitated villagers deemed by him to be "collaborators".
Recently Abu Sayyaf have forged links with Jemaah Islamiyah, a more disciplined and ambitious Islamist terror group, with cells in various southeast Asian countries.
Keywords: Radullon Sahiron, Radullan Sahiron, Radilon Sahiron, Nur Masari, Nur Misauri, Nir Misuari, Nur Misuari
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 21, 2006 11:44 AM
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