Zamboanga City, Philippines - Fighting between government
troops and Islamic militants in the southern Philippines has left
more than 50 people dead and forced thousands of civilians to flee
their homes, officials said Friday.
Major Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said 25
soldiers were killed Thursday in clashes with Abu Sayyaf rebels in
Indanan and Maimbung towns on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of
Manila.
A civilian boy and 27 guerrillas were also killed in the fighting,
he added.
The fighting erupted when Abu Sayyaf rebels ambushed a group of
soldiers on their way to the public market on the border of Indanan
and Maimbung. Nine soldiers were killed on the spot while another
died while being treated in hospital.
Later Thursday, another group of soldiers clashed with Abu Sayyaf
rebels in Maimbung, resulting in the death of another 15 troops and
the civilian, Batara said.
Officials with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which
signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996, said some MNLF
members were also engaged in the fighting.
Hatimil Hassan, an MNLF deputy chairman, said MNLF fighters joined
the attack against the soldiers in retaliation for the killing of
three comrades and a commander in a clash with troops Wednesday.
'It was in retaliation for the death of Commander Jilih and his
followers,' he said. 'The military initiated the attacks.'
The hostilities have forced more than 4,300 people to flee their
homes in the affected towns, said Bai Racma Imam, an official with
the local social welfare department.
'We are afraid that the fighting will escalate in other towns,'
she said. 'There is a possibility also that the current figures of
displaced people will balloon due to the ongoing fighting.'
Imam appealed for blankets, food supplies and medicines for the
displaced residents.
The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist
attacks in the Philippines. It is believed to be working with two top
militants with the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah regional
terrorist group who are hiding in the southern region of Mindanao.
The MNLF has expressed dissatisfaction over the government's
failure to implement some key provisions of the 10-year-old peace
accord, especially those aimed at developing Muslim areas in Mindanao.
A tripartite meeting among representatives of the Organization of
Islamic Conference, which brokered the peace pact; the Philippine
government; and the MNLF to assess the implementation of the
agreement has been postponed several times.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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