Ambush by Islamist rebels in Basilan complicates Bangsamoro election
A group of unidentified men close to the formally disbanded Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked a military convoy that was escorting UN officials, killing two and wounding 12. The path towards the parliamentary election in the autonomous region on Mindanao is getting steeper, as the election set for May might be postponed to August.
Manila (AsiaNews) – A group of Muslim rebels ambushed a convoy carrying United Nations officials, killing at least two soldiers and wounding a dozen more.
The attack, blamed on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a formally disbanded group, took place yesterday in Sumisip, a town on Basilan Island.
The military were escorting a delegation from the UN Development Programme (UNDP); Muslim sources say the delegation did not warn local security officials that it was travelling in the area.
Military sources say the soldiers were “fired upon by unidentified armed personalities,” and the visit by the United Nations was suspended.
In the wake of the incident, Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, better known as Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, head of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), called for calm today, urging the parties to avoid initiatives or statements that could further fuel tensions.
After the Philippine government and Islamist guerrillas signed a peace deal, the BTA was set up to act as the parliament of the interim regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, tasked with leading it towards full autonomy.
Now, the attack complicates the process leading up to parliamentary elections for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), scheduled for 12 May.
These elections are crucial to consolidate the region’s autonomy, end tensions from decades of armed conflict, and start real development for its mainly Muslim population.
In 2014, the Philippine government and the MILF, the main guerrilla movement in the southern Philippines, signed the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro, after 17 years of difficult negotiations to set up an autonomous region, which was officially established in 2019.
The transition involved disarming the MILF, integrating its fighters into the local police and defence forces, and turning the areas under the group’s control into economic development zones.
However, the process is still ongoing and faces the possibility that the election might be postponed, as established in the legislation approved months ago by the Philippine House of Representatives and currently before the Senate for final approval.
If adopted, it would move the date of the elections from 12 May to 11 August, a change that leaves many observers scratching their heads.
The final decision might be up to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose orientation will also influence the BTA’s permanence and attributions.
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