24-6-2023 (MANILA) In a failed operation to apprehend a long-sought former vice mayor, seven policemen and a soldier sustained injuries in a clash that took place on Saturday in Maimbung town, Sulu.
According to a report from the Sulu Provincial Police Office, the joint team of soldiers and policemen had set out to serve arrest warrants to Pando Mudjasan, the former vice mayor of Maimbung, who was wanted for serious criminal offenses across multiple courts. However, Mudjasan and his armed followers, equipped with assault rifles, put up resistance, leading to a fierce exchange of gunfire.
The confrontation erupted when Mudjasan’s group initiated the first round of shots as the combined Army-police team approached their location in Barangay Bualo Lipid, Maimbung. During the ensuing encounter, seven policemen, including four from the Sulu Provincial Police Office’s mobile force company, sustained injuries, as per reports received by the headquarters of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
As the former vice mayor and his companions realized they were at risk of being encircled by advancing government forces, they managed to escape the scene, carrying their wounded comrades. In response, additional military and police personnel have launched a search operation to locate the wanted ex-vice mayor and his followers.
