DAVAO CITY—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) belied government broadside against the organization that it was behind the grenade-throwing incident on Saturday in Maasim town, Sarangani, that killed one civilian.

MILF also brushed aside as smear campaign the text messages alleging Moro guerrilla attacks on Army and paramilitary detachments in North Cotabato this week.

“Our troops remained in defensive position as it has been last year, and the MILF continued to adhere to the 1997 agreement on cessation of hostilities that we had with the government,” said Gadzali Jaafar, the MILF vice chairman for political affairs.

Jaafar told the BusinessMirror on Tuesday in a telephone interview that “there is no truth to all these allegations that we are behind the bombing in Sarangani and that our troops were moving out and attacking government positions.”

He said he had also received several mobile-phone messages that said that a so-called 105 Inner Defense Force of the MILF had “annihilated joint elements of the [Army’s] 40IB and CVOs of Pagangan in Aleosan and the 75IB of Lagundi, Pikit and Kadingilan in Midsayap [all in North Cotabato].”

The text message said the encounter purportedly happened on Monday, as the supposed MILF forces also overran three AFP and CVO detachments.

“I have been receiving those messages also. It is but prudent that you should check on them,” he said.

“I have not heard of actual troop movements anywhere in Mindanao. Officially, both parties, the MILF and the government, have continued to recognize the agreement on cessation on hostilities, which we have reaffirmed in August 2001 in Tripoli, Libya,” he said.

“Officially, our troops are still in place, holding defensive positions. There have been no aggressive troop movement and they have not initiated any activities against the government,” he said.

Repeated inquiries with the spokesman of the AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command have not been answered.

Jaafar blamed the government, however, that its aggressive pursuits against MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato in the North Cotabato-Maguindanao area, and Kumander Bravo in the Lanao area, have led to the increase in the number of evacuees, who he said may have reached 700,000 already.

“The repeated pronouncement of government that there is no cease-fire as far as the two commanders are concerned have wreaked havoc on these civilians, especially the Bangsamoro population.”

“They have been suffering under deplorable conditions in the evacuation centers, with no food, no shelter, no water, no medicines and pregnant women have to deliver their child under open skies with no medics around,” he said.

“We would call again on the government to stop those military operations and to continue the talks to resolve the issue about the two commanders,” he said, saying that government complaint that they have violated certain provisions of the cease-fire agreement “should be resolved within the terms of the agreement, and not outside of it”.

“Because to resolve it outside would have great impact on the civilians,” he said.

He said, “The men of Kato and Bravo would be forced to fight back when government would try to penetrate their defenses.”

“In the process, civilians would be the ones to be gravely affected. Many of them reported that when they returned to their villages, their homes have been burned or bombed,” he said.