Slain were terrorists, not friendly ex-rebels, Philippine military insist

The killing receives flak from ex-rebel group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The fatal firefight occurred when the Philippine military and police were conducting a joint law enforcement operation in Maguindanao del Sur province June 18, 2023. Pictured is a soldier training. (Philippine Army file pic)

MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR: The Philippine military have reportedly stood by their statement that they killed seven terrorists over the weekend, not members of a former rebel group now part of a southern autonomous region administration as claimed. 

The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) on Tuesday (June 20) said the seven individuals slain in an alleged encounter in Maguindanao del Sur province were members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) terror group. 

Government troops were serving arrest warrants at the house of two of the alleged BIFF members in Damawato village, Datu Paglas municipality, when a firefight ensued in the wee hours of Sunday (June 18).

Later, the said former rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), reportedly claimed that the fatalities were their members, and not the BIFF's, their breakaway group.

According to reports, the MILF will file a complaint against the operating troops of Westmincom and Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group before the Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) for alleged violation of the ceasefire agreement between the MILF and the Philippine government.

The CCCH is a coordinating unit composed of members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and MILF which seeks to ensure that the pact is being observed. 

The MILF signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 2014 and are now part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) since 2019.

In return, the MILF disarmed their fighters as a step towards reintegration to mainstream society.