BATTLE SCENE Soldiers of the 103rd Infantry Brigade occupy the Ragayan Elementary School after an intense battle听with gunmen belonging to the Maute criminal group in Barangay Ragayan in Butig, Lanao del Sur province. RICHEL V. UMEL / INQUIRER MINDANAO
BUTIG, Lanao del Sur鈥擜t least 54 alleged members of a little-known criminal group were killed after several days of intense military air and artillery strikes here, authorities said on Monday.
Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesperson of the Armed Forces鈥� Western Mindanao Command, said the massive military operations were launched on Thursday against the 鈥渓ocal terrorist Maute group,鈥� which was reportedly involved in extortion and kidnapping activities.
The group, led by two brothers surnamed Maute, has claimed it was behind the recent bombings of transmission towers of National Grip Corp. of the Philippines and the abduction of six sawmill workers from Iligan City, according to Col. Roseller Murillo, commander of the Army鈥檚 103rd Infantry Brigade.
Two of the workers were beheaded on April 10, while the rest were freed after their employers negotiated with the captors.
Fighting between government forces and the criminal group has intensified, forcing at least 1,200 people to leave their villages in Butig, one of the poorest municipalities in Lanao del Sur province, according to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao鈥檚 Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team.
The evacuees came from Barangays Ragayan, Poktan, Bayabao, Sandab, Coloyan and Samer, and they are now staying with relatives in the towns of Masiu and Lumbayanague and in Marawi City.
Citing intelligence reports, Tan said at least 54 suspected members of the group had so far been killed in the fighting.
The death toll could not be independently confirmed. Troops have not retrieved the bodies, but based the number on intelligence reports and on sightings of bodies being carried away by their comrades, Tan said.
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鈥楪et the criminals鈥�
Two soldiers were killed and nine were wounded, he said. The fatalities were identified as Pfc. Danilo Allaga and Pfc. Mark Fernand Ortaliza.
On Sunday, Murillo said bombs were dropped by OV-10 planes on the Maute group鈥檚 lair in Ragayan, followed by strikes from fighter jets. Ground troops also fired 81-mm mortars.
鈥淎n armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device while it entered and assaulted an enemy position in the morning of the same day, but it did not damage the armored tank,鈥� Murillo said.
The military offensives 鈥渢o get the criminals鈥� continued on Monday, Tan said. 鈥淭he troops continue to advance toward the enemy stronghold and defeat the local terrorist groups in the area.鈥�
鈥淲e will finish these military operations against extremists as part of the law enforcement to prevent recruitment of more members in Mindanao,鈥� Murillo said.
Fact-finding mission
Jerome Aba, spokesperson of the Suara Bangsamoro, expressed concern over the ongoing military strikes and the dislocation of thousands of villagers.
鈥淭his is a continuing attack on the Moro people,鈥� Aba said in a phone interview on Monday.
Suara Bangsamoro is set to conduct a fact-finding mission in Butig to determine what happened before the clashes.
鈥淲e will be there to help our Moro brothers and sisters,鈥� Aba said, adding that his group would join others to persuade the government to pull out its troops in the area.
Drieza Lininding, vice chair of the Bangsamoro National Movement for Peace and Development, said on his Facebook page: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe in military听 solutions, only a negotiated political settlement can address the problem here in Mindanao.鈥�
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Needs of IDPs
Lininding said he was hoping that 鈥渢he needs of the IDPs (internally displaced persons) are being taken care of. We know how difficult it is to leave one鈥檚 house and livelihood.鈥�
鈥淟et us hope for a peaceful resolution, personally I don鈥檛 believe in military solutions as these only breed more hatred and conflicts,鈥澛� he added. With reports from Jigger J. Jerusalem, Inquirer Mindanao; Julie M. Aurelio in Manila and AP