ARMM security council restores normalcy in conflict-wracked Albarka town

ALBARKA, Basilan -- The Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao imposed measures to stave off a return to Albarka town of Abu Sayyaf gunmen soldiers drove away from the area last week.Hundreds of Yakan families were displaced by the hostilities, driven away from their homes by the Army-Abu Sayyaf encounters.ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, presiding chair of RPOC, presided last weekend a local security dialogue among local officials, the police and military and representatives from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to build consensus on how to stop the oft-recurring encounters in Albarka.Hataman said he is thankful to the mayors in Basilan and the ceasefire committee of the MILF for helping restore normalcy in Albarka following last week’s series of encounters there.The Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City had said no fewer than 15 bandits were killed in the gunfights between soldiers and gunmen led by Abu Sayyaf leaders Isnilon Hapilon, Nurhassan Jamiri, and Furuji Indama.The three Abu Sayyaf commanders are wanted for heinous offenses, including kidnapping, cattle theft and for bomb attacks in different areas in Basilan.The Abu Sayyaf is not covered by the interim ceasefire accord between the government and the MILF, which enjoins both sides to mutually cooperate in addressing security concerns in potential flash point areas in Mindanao.Local officials in Albarka had promised Hataman to help restrain the movement of Abu Sayyaf forces in the area, which they use as springboards for their extremist activities.Hataman’s continuing pacification campaign in Albarka and surrounding towns has caused a deep-seated animosity between him and Abu Sayyaf forces in Basilan.He thrice survived roadside bombings in recent months while his convoy was passing through secluded stretches of the Basilan circumferential road, concreted under his administration’s ministerial supervision.Hataman and volunteers from the ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) had also dispersed relief supplies to evacuees from Albarka last weekend.HEART officials said the Hataman-led RPOC is now helping the police and military work out the return of the evacuees to their villages.