Joint operatives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police are preparing to serve an arrest warrant on Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari in Sulu, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Thursday.
Misuari has a standing warrant of arrest for ordering the MNLF’s attack on Zamboanga City last year. The month-long siege left thousands homeless and hundreds of people dead, including soldiers and over 200 MNLF fighters.
“The Armed Forces right now has contained him in one place. He has a warrant of arrest and this must be served on him,” Gazmin said.
He said the operation against Misuari is being carefully prepared to avoid bloodshed.
Recall that in 2002, 19 soldiers were killed and 14 seriously wounded when they tried to serve warrants of arrest on members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf Group in a rebel camp.
Misuari is a former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. He is one of the enduring leaders of the Muslim secessionist war but has recently been declared “persona non grata” by the surviving “Top 90” MNLF leaders for his alleged leadership blunders.
