Mamasapano clash ‘too intense’ to be stopped –Jaafar

It was too intense to be stopped.

This was how Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar described the January 25 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which left over 50 people dead, most of them elite policemen.

Interviewed on GMA News’ “Unang Hirit” on Tuesday, Jaafar said the ceasefire committees of both the MILF and the government acted quickly upon learning of the encounter on the morning of January 25.

“They tried to stop the fighting [but] pagka yung battle masyado pang matindi mahirap pong pigilin 'yan agad-agad,” he said.

The firefight has cast a shadow on the peace process between the government and the MILF, the largest secessionist organization in the country.

Jaafar said MILF leaders received word of the firefight at 9 a.m. while meeting at their camp in Darapanan, Maguindanao, in preparation for the normalization phase of the peace process.

The encounter occurred after over 300 policemen from the police Special Action Force swooped down on an MILF-controlled area in Mamasapano to serve the arrest warrant on Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Filipino bomb expert Abdulbasit Usman, whose presence in the area was reportedly confirmed.

When the smoke cleared after several hours of fighting, 44 SAF members and 18 MILF fighters lay dead.

"Kahit na po nag-raise ng white flag, kung hindi sila mismo doon sa lugar na malapit na malapit dun sa engkwentro, let's say 4 kilometers, how can those people engaged in fighting see the white flag raised?" Jaafar asked.

A seven-man investigating body has been formed by the MILF to look into the incident. The Philippine National Police is conducting its own investigation. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News