Philippines to probe friendly fire actually meant to target terrorists
A friendly former rebel group claim their members were killed instead.
MAGUINDANAO DEL NORTE: Philippine authorities will investigate an alleged friendly fire conducted by security forces against members of a friendly former rebel group during an operation meant to target terrorists in the southern province of Maguindanao del Sur, it has been reported.
The Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation will conduct separate investigations on the June 18 joint-police and army operation that allegedly left seven men from the former rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), dead, it has been reported.
Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and Special Assistant to the President Secretary Anton Lagdameo Jr. recently said that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had been informed of the request of MILF leaders for a separate, independent, and impartial investigation into the operation.
“It is necessary to have a fair investigation and the government is considering the recommendation to bring back third-party monitoring teams,” Galvez reportedly told reporters.
Galvez said he had suggested to the military and police leadership to come up with official reports and forward them to Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, the chief minister in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which the MILF is part of following a peace agreement they signed with the Philippine government.
Meanwhile, officials of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority have suggested bringing back the International Monitoring Team (IMT) composed of foreign peacekeepers to ensure the ceasefire agreement is implemented, said the report further.
The Malaysia-led IMT consisting of about 60 peacekeepers had departed from the southern Philippines after the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, the BARMM police chief, said the operation was legitimate and only went haywire when one of the gunmen opened fire toward law enforcers during the search warrant operation in Madidis village, Datu Paglas municipality.
During that time, operatives of the police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the military were to serve search warrants against Nasser Husain and his brother Norjihad when a shootout erupted.
Both siblings died in the operation along with five others.
The Husain brothers were earlier charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
After the killings, the police and military issued statements that the seven slain men were members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a terrorist group.
However, Mohagher Iqbal, a former MILF chief peace negotiator, said that the fatalities were legitimate MILF members and that the operation against them was a clear violation of the ceasefire mechanism.
The Philippine military later responded saying they stood by their announcement that they had killed BIFF terrorists, with the police adding the seven were members of two BIFF factions - the Karialan and Bungos factions - the latter aligned with IS.
The MILF also reportedly stressed that state forces need to coordinate with them before conducting law enforcement operations in MILF communities to avoid unnecessary firefights as stipulated in their 1997 general agreement with the Philippine government on the cessation of hostilities.
Galvez, citing a report from the law enforcers, said the subject of the Datu Paglas operation was verified to be affiliated with the outlawed BIFF.
Nevertheless, he quickly added that a third-party, independent investigation is necessary “to remove all doubts.”