The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), through Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the Secretariat of the MILF’s Central Committee, has asked the government to stop the hostilities on the island of Sulu, or at least spare the innocent civilians.

Ameen made the call amid what the MILF says is a growing “people’s war” against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the troubled island as a result of the air bombing on September 20 by the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits as Muslims were marking with an early morning prayer the end of Ramadan.

Moro leaders from Sulu said the air attacks had disrupted and stopped Eid’l Fitr Day prayers in at least eight mosques in Indanan, Sulu.

Ameen asked the military, particularly WesMinCom headed by Maj. Gen. Ben Muhammad Dolorfino to stop the fighting. Or if not, the civilians must be spared.

A seven-month pregnant teen-aged mother named Wilma Ambil was confirmed to have died from the OV-10 fighter’s Eid’l Fitr Day bombing, prompting Ameen to call for a stop to the war on the island.

Meanwhile, Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie, regional chairman of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society Organizations (CBCSO) based in Jolo, Sulu, earlier said that many Moros in Sulu are angry with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. for ordering the Eid’l Fitr Day air bombing that showed disrespect for Islam and Muslims’ sacred celebrations.

Tulawie said the series of attacks against government forces are retaliations for the Eid’l Fitr Day air attack.

But Teodoro said it was the ASG that disrespected Ramadan, and not the government.

Tulawie said the ambush on September 22 against the Marines and the roadside bombing on September 29 that killed two United States soldiers are forms of retaliation for the Eid’l Fitr Day air bombing that made many people of Sulu angry with Teodoro, who they claimed ordered it.

“We sympathize with the families of the soldiers who were slain during the ambush,” said Tulawie, saying soldiers’ and Moros’ lives were being sacrificed.

In a related development, the MILF has expressed apprehension that America’s military contingent in the Philippines could be drawn into a “direct combat role” in Mindanao because of the killing of Staff Sergeant Jack Martin and Sergeant First Class Christopher Shaw and Filipino Marine Private First Class Jerwin Estrada while on their way to Sitio Laum Sahing in Indanan, Sulu.

They died from the roadside blast, believed to be an improvised landmine, as they were returning from Barangay Kagay to Sitio Laum Sahing.

Hasan Hattab, whom the MILF described as “a political officer” of the MILF based in Sulu, said Moros are not in a state of war with the United States.

In his latest statement on www.luwaran.net Web site, Hattab said “the Moros are not at war with the United States reminiscent of the 1902 to 1913 Moro-American War that led to thousands of Moros dead and certainly will not court one this time or in the future but this death of the two Americans even by the Abu Sayyaf could trigger off a backlash that could affect the larger Moro population.”

Thus, the MILF is wondering if the deaths of the two American troopers could force the US military to engage in a “direct combat role” in Mindanao.

US Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney cited the American soldiers’ services for the people of Sulu, saying America will not be daunted by the incident.

“They lost their lives serving others and we will always be grateful for their contributions to improve the quality of life in Jolo,” said Kenney, a frequent visitor even to Mindanao’s war-affected areas, putting to shame even envoys from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), who have rarely ventured to southern Philippines.

Senators led by Miriam Defensor Santiago had been pushing for at least a renegotiation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which granted US the right to have American military contingent in the Philippines, but not to join combat operations.

The Sulu incident has again highlighted the VFA, with some Filipino leaders calling for its abrogation.