Muslim Rebel Group Denies Role In Maguindanao Massacre

November 28, 2009 7:30 a.m. EST

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - The Muslim separatist group in southern Philippines has denied allegations by a town mayor that one of its commanders was responsible for the Monday massacre of about 60 people in Maguindanao province.

In a statement issued Friday, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) official Eid Kabalu said Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. was diverting the blame to the rebels when he claimed that MILF commander Umbra Kato and his men killed the victims and buried them near Ampatuan town in Maguindanao.

Kabalu said the MILF does not have access to a backhoe, which was found at the crime scene in Maguindanao and was believed to have been used to dug the mass grave of the massacre victims.

Ampatuan pointed to Kato as the mastermind of the massacre while detained at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila after his arrest Thursday. Kato is being hunted by the government for killing scores of civilians and displacing thousands of people in central Mindanao last year.