Muslim separatist rebels raided a southern Philippine village, ransacked stores and used about 20 hostages as human shields in their escape, the military said yesterday.
The hostages were freed unharmed before dawn yesterday, about 12 hours after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas swept through the village of Basak in Sultan Kudarat province’s Lebak township, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce said.
Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said the MILF was not responsible and that it could have been a spillover of an ongoing feud between a local rebel commander and the leader of another guerrilla group.
“We are thankful that the civilians were not harmed by the rebels,” Ponce said, adding that the raiders reportedly also burned down four houses and stole farm animals.
He said the raiders were part of a group under rogue guerrilla commander Umbra Kato, one of three commanders who led a rampage that killed dozens of civilians after the scrapping of a preliminary peace deal last year.
Ponce called the raid a “treacherous act” and a violation of human rights that showed the MILF could not control its field commanders.
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