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Philippine soldiers accused of using human shields

Mindanao residents, rights group say troops are occupying schools and mosques
Philippine soldiers accused of using human shields

Villagers walk their water buffalos past military armored personnel carriers, as they evacuate in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province, in southern island of Mindanao, on February 28 (AFP Photo/Mark Navales)

 

Published: March 12, 2015 10:08 AM GMT
Updated: April 24, 2015 04:23 PM GMT

A human rights group and local villagers in the southern Philippines on Thursday said government troops are using civilians as human shields in ongoing military operations against Moro rebels in Mindanao.

"The soldiers try to intimidate the civilians [and] use them as human shields," said Jerome Aba, spokesman of the human rights group Suara Bangsamoro.

He said soldiers have been occupying schools and mosques in the towns of Mamasapano and Datu Unsay since the military operation against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) started on February 25.

In the village of Madia in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, village chief Idris Sindatok said soldiers are using the evacuation centers as "shields from the rebels".

Additionally, troops have requisitioned a village community hall as a military camp — putting in danger 1,200 people sheltering in a mosque behind the hall, said Sindatok.

On Wednesday, soldiers fired 81mm mortars from the area.

"This stunned the villagers, especially the children," said Aba, who was in the village on a humanitarian and relief mission.

The Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said at least 18 schools were already closed because of the fighting.

Mariam Badawi, principal of the local elementary school in the village of Madia, said the villagers have become "human shields".

On Wednesday, at least 38 mortar shells landed in the village of Dapiawan in Datu Odin Sinsuat town. Villagers said most of the explosions occurred just 300 meters from an evacuation center.

The military said it would look into the report and investigate how ground troops have been conducting the operations.

Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the military's 6th Infantry Division, insisted that government troops are doing their best to avoid civilian casualties.

"We call on those who were hurt or affected by the operation to report to us," she said.

Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said the military offensive, which is already in its second week, has significantly disrupted the lives of local residents.

"The number might still increase in the coming days," he said. "We appeal to our soldiers to make sure that the impact of the war to civilians will be minimal," the governor said.

"These people have suffered more than enough already.”

In Manila, the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday said an additional 20 BIFF fighters were casualties of fresh fighting in the town of Shariff Saydona.

"The operating troops spotted [approximately] 20 bandits who were either dead or wounded during the series of firefights," said Major Harold Magallanes Cabunoc.

On Wednesday, the military reported that at least 96 BIFF fighters have been killed and at least 63 others injured in the "all-out offensive".

The military operation, which is aimed at crushing the rebel group, has already affected at least 10 Maguindanao towns.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao earlier announced that it needs to raise at least US$271,214 a week to sustain the food needs of evacuees, now numbering 72,585 individuals, or 14,517 families.

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