MILF to launch offensive against breakaway group in S. Philippines

COTABATO, Philippines, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) — The secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said Monday that it will run after a rogue group consisting of their former comrades in southern Philippines after it has forged a peace deal with the government.

MILF spokesman Von Al Haq told Xinhua in a phone interview that members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) will be declared outlaws once the agreement is signed next week.

“We cannot act (yet as the) agreement has not been signed. (But) once we reach a final agreement, the BIFF is automatically ( categorized) as lawless elements,” said Al Haq.

“Our efforts (to pursue the BIFF) will be coordinated with the military and the police,” he said.

The rogue BIFF is led by Ameril Umbra Kato, a former commander of the MILF’s 105th Base Command. The group is said to be the mastermind behind the attacks on civilian communities in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato in 2008 following the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the MILF.

In August, Kato’s men staged simultaneous attacks against government military detachments in the region, occupied a national highway for almost a week and harassed civilian communities.

The Philippine government and the MILF declared on Sunday that they have agreed on a framework agreement that would pave the way for a “final enduring peace” in Mindanao.

After the details have been worked out, the framework agreement will be signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III and leaders of the MILF on Oct. 15.