Last Monday, 7 February, some fifteen soldiers were killed in Sulu Province after being ambushed by renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members loyal to Nur Misuari. By the end of the week, the body count from both sides had risen to a total of almost a hundred, and included an army batallion commander. Thousands of civilians were also forced to evacuate to avoid the crossfire. The MNLF, who had signed a peace agreement with the government & whose members had been integrated into the Army, had almost surely used guns from the Philippine Army, thereby killing soldiers with their own weapons!
The latest violence erupted because, according to the rebels, they wanted to avenge the killing of the family of a suspected Abu Sayyaf member by the military. The army, on the other hand, said that tye attacks were aimed at forcing the government to release Nur Misuari. Misuari had been in jail now for more than two years after leading a failed rebellion to protest his sacking as ARMM governor and MNLF chairman.
Fortunately, President Gloria Arroyo seems to have learned her lesson in dealing with these rebels. In the earlier rebellion, Misuari's followers had also attacked several army outposts, and when were near defeat, had taken about a hundred hostages. Instead of finishing off the rebels, she halted military operations and allowed the rebels to escape. But today, the President has finally decided to ignore the "peace-loving" leftist activists and went ahead with giving the rebels hell to pay.
According to the latest reports, the rebels are already running out of ammunition, food, and other supplies. As expected, they are now calling for a cease-fire with the government. The military though, have shrugged these off and have crept closer to the rebel hideout, vowing to stop only after crushing the rebels.
May our President stick to her tough talk.