COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 24, 2008) – At least two Philippine rebels were killed while two soldiers wounded in a clash in the southern island of Mindanao, a regional army spokesman said Wednesday.
Major Armando Rico said government troops clashed with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in restive Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
“Two enemies were killed in the fighting and two soldiers are also wounded,” Rico told the Mindanao Examiner.
He said fighting erupted in the village of Daplawan in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan on Tuesday and lasted for several hours. Clashes also broke out in Muslimin village in the neighboring town of Guindulungan after government soldiers intercepted MILF reinforcement.
Provincial and regional government officials gave no statements about the continuing fighting, but tens of thousands of villagers have already fled their homes since last month after security and rebel forces engaged in fierce gun battles despite a cease-fire agreement and ongoing peace talks.
Just last week, the military said MILF forces led by Abdul Usman Basit and Abas Awab raided a village in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town and torched houses and small government buildings.
It said Basit has links with the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya and is wanted both by the Filipino and US governments for his role in the spate of bombings in the troubled region. Washington offered up to $50,000 for information leading to Usman's capture.
The MILF has strongly denied it was behind the arson attacks and blamed government soldiers as behind it as part of propaganda hate campaign against the rebel group, which is fighting for a Muslim homeland in Mindanao.
Manila said it would ask the United Nations to declare about a dozen MILF leaders, tagged as behind deadly attacks in Mindanao, as terrorists. Among them Ameril, Abdurahman Macapaar and Sulayman Panglian who led a series of deadly attacks in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces after the aborted signing of the Muslim homeland deal in August.
President Gloria Arroyo has scrapped the territorial agreement with the MILF and abolished the government panel negotiating peace with the rebels. She also demanded the MILF to surrender the wanted commanders and for the rebel group to lay down their weapons before peace talks could resume.
The MILF flatly rejected Arroyo’s demand and warned that a bigger war could erupt in the southern Philippines after the Ramadan, Islam’s holy month, if Manila continues attacking rebel forces in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
Major Armando Rico said government troops clashed with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in restive Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
“Two enemies were killed in the fighting and two soldiers are also wounded,” Rico told the Mindanao Examiner.
He said fighting erupted in the village of Daplawan in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan on Tuesday and lasted for several hours. Clashes also broke out in Muslimin village in the neighboring town of Guindulungan after government soldiers intercepted MILF reinforcement.
Provincial and regional government officials gave no statements about the continuing fighting, but tens of thousands of villagers have already fled their homes since last month after security and rebel forces engaged in fierce gun battles despite a cease-fire agreement and ongoing peace talks.
Just last week, the military said MILF forces led by Abdul Usman Basit and Abas Awab raided a village in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town and torched houses and small government buildings.
It said Basit has links with the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya and is wanted both by the Filipino and US governments for his role in the spate of bombings in the troubled region. Washington offered up to $50,000 for information leading to Usman's capture.
The MILF has strongly denied it was behind the arson attacks and blamed government soldiers as behind it as part of propaganda hate campaign against the rebel group, which is fighting for a Muslim homeland in Mindanao.
Manila said it would ask the United Nations to declare about a dozen MILF leaders, tagged as behind deadly attacks in Mindanao, as terrorists. Among them Ameril, Abdurahman Macapaar and Sulayman Panglian who led a series of deadly attacks in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces after the aborted signing of the Muslim homeland deal in August.
President Gloria Arroyo has scrapped the territorial agreement with the MILF and abolished the government panel negotiating peace with the rebels. She also demanded the MILF to surrender the wanted commanders and for the rebel group to lay down their weapons before peace talks could resume.
The MILF flatly rejected Arroyo’s demand and warned that a bigger war could erupt in the southern Philippines after the Ramadan, Islam’s holy month, if Manila continues attacking rebel forces in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
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