MAMASAPANO ENCOUNTER

 

On Sunday, January 25, 2015, three platoons of the elite SAF police squad entered the guerrilla enclave of Tukanalipao, Mindanao,Philippines, with the goal of detaining two high-ranking Jemaah Islamiyah-affiliated, improvised-explosive-device experts, Zulkifli Abdhir (also known as Marwan) and Abdul Basit Usman. The SAF troops raided the hut where they believed Marwan was located, and the man they believe to be Marwan engaged them in a firefight and was killed. The SAF initially planned to take his body for identification. However, the shooting alerted the BIFF and MILF 118th Command in the area. The SAF had no time to retrieve the body so they just cut off a finger, took a photo, and left his body there.By 6:18 AM UTC+8 (PST), an SMS message was sent by the Commander of SAF 61D Batallion to SAF Director Getulio Napeñas that they were pinned down at coordinates 6.92489°N 124.52047°E. What followed was a bloody encounter that left 44 SAF and 18 MILF dead.

On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, the FBI confirmed to the PNP that the DNA sample from the finger matched that of Marwan's brother detained in a U.S. facility.

A MILF spokesman accused the SAF squads of initiating the firefight, claiming that the rebels acted in self-defense, and proposed the continuation of the peace process.

Abu Misri Mama, BIFF spokesman, said that his rebel group's relationship with the MILF's 105th Command headed by Ustadz Zacaria Guma is positive. “We're all family,” Mama commenting on BIFF's relationship with Guma's unit. Mama said that there is no distinction between BIFF members and members of Guma's unit and claims that all of them are either relatives or friends of each other. It was reported that Guma's unit would engage other MILF units over disputes such as clan feuds. It was also reported that Guma is not on good terms with other MILF units which Guma views as "Munafiq", or hypocrites.

A ranking military intelligence officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said that BIFF leader Ameril Umbra Kato ordered the killing of the SAF members by his group and members of the MILF involved in the incident. The official also quoted Kato as saying “Leave no one alive and take all their firearms, ammunition, and personal belongings.” A colonel from the Philippine Army, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the information and said that SAF personnel who were still alive but wounded were shot dead by some BIFF members.

A private armed group led by Datu Bahnarin Ampatuan was reportedly among those involved in the killings of the SAF members. Bahnarin Ampatuan, who is also implicated in the Maguindanao massacre case, is the brother of Mamasapano mayor Benzar Ampatuan. Bahnarin and Benzar Amputuan were rivals at the 2010 Mayoral elections. Benzar expressed doubt of his brother's participation and believes that Bahnarin would not associate himself with such groups like the BIFF nor to people like Abdul Basit Usman who made an attempt to kill Benzar's grandfather.