By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines

Government troops have halted an offensive against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), ending a month of fighting in the Philippines south which has claimed the lives of 139 rebels.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said Monday that Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Gregorio Catapang had issued an order to stop the all-out offensive against the BIFF in Maguindanao.

He added that a 53 other people had died in the operation, and 12 rebels had been captured.

“After the relentless operations against the BIFF we have achieved our objectives: the neutralization of more than 50 percent of their ranks, the capture of bomb factories, and seizure of enclaves and safe havens in different Maguindanao localities,” he said.

He added that the army will deploy more troops in Maguindanao to protect civilians, make sure the rebels would not return, and focus on a new phase of rebuilding, peace and development.

Renewed military operations against the BIFF - a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - started Feb. 21 after BIFF attacked communities in Pikit town in Cotabato province reportedly as a result of a “rido” - or clan war - with their one-time masters.

BIFF fighters - along with some from the MILF - were implicated in the January killings of 44 police anti-terror commandos on the outskirts of Maguindanao's Mamasapano town.

Alongside the officers, at least 17 MILF members and five civilians were killed.

After 17 years of negotiations, the MILF - the country's one time largest Muslim rebel group - signed a peace deal named the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro with the Philippine government last year.

Under the agreement, the rebels were supposed to turn over their firearms and decommission their forces, in return for an autonomous region that accounts for about 10 percent of the country. 

The deal was rejected by BIFF who continued to bear arms against the government.