Two children die in Philippine terror attacks

Two children die in Philippine terror attacks

Two children were killed and three wounded in two deadly shootings allegedly by Islamist extremists in the insurgency-plagued Mindanao region in the southern Philippines.  

A 15-year-old child was killed while a 14-year-old was wounded in one shooting on Feb. 16 in Pikit, a town in Cotabato province, military officials said.

The attack came two days after four suspected terrorists opened fire at children in the same town, killing a 13-year-old and wounding two others on Feb. 14.

Philippine army Brigadier General Donald Gumiran, commander of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, claimed the shootings were aimed at stoking Christian-Muslim tensions in the region.

“They have stirred anti-Christian sentiments in the province”

“Children were victims … harmless children. There is a strong link between the two events because they happened in the same town. We cannot say that shooting children was incidental. No … they were the primary targets of terrorists,” Gumiran told reporters on Feb. 16.

Gumiran also claimed the attackers wanted to divide Muslims and Christians in the region.

“We have yet to determine who the suspects are but so far they have stirred anti-Christian sentiments in the province because Cotabato remains a delicate place where this sentiment still thrives,” Gumiran added.

Western Mindanao Command spokesman, Major Andre Linao, told reporters on Feb. 16 that the attacks were carried out by the extremist Abu Sayyaf group.

“They are not as strong as before that’s why they are committing hate attacks to further their cause and to recruit members. Terrorism spreads hate to recruit members for revenge, to seek justice,” Major Linao said.

The Abu Sayyaf is a Muslim separatist group responsible for a number of bombings and beheadings of foreigners in the Philippines.

Police science and law professor Leo Asong of Ateneo de Davao Law School said Christian-Muslim tensions are not “totally wiped away” among residents in the province.

“These attacks are directed at children perhaps to revive the tension. Muslims in the region have still very vivid memories of what happened to them in 1971,” Asong told UCA News.

Asong was referring to the mass murder of 70 Muslims, including women and children, in a mosque in Cotabato on June 19, 1971.

On that day, Muslims gathered at the mosque in Manili town to supposedly participate in a peace talk with Christian groups and government officials when armed men opened fire, leaving 70 Moro Muslims killed. The massacre was blamed on the Ilaga, a Christian extremist group.

The massacre triggered increased hostilities among Moro Muslims and Christians in the Muslim-dominant region.

Professor Asong claimed the recent shooting of children had similar intentions of spreading hatred among Christians and Muslims.

“The intention of those responsible for these two shooting incidents could be the same,” he added.

“Our resolve on these heinous crimes will not dwindle”

Archbishop Angelito Lampon of Cotabato condemned the shootings and called for peace.

“We are calling for peace in this province. The Catholic Church has been spearheading interreligious dialogue in the region to put out any fire of hatred between Christians and Muslim,” he told UCA News.

Archbishop Lampon also said that the second shooting victim, Justine Abalon, was taken to hospital by Cotabato priest Father Romeo Saniel, head of the inter-religious dialogue team of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The government vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Our resolve on these heinous crimes will not dwindle as we continue to fulfill our mandate to protect Filipinos,” Interior and Local Government Secretary, Benjamin Abalos, told reporters.