At least 16 Muslim separatist rebels and seven government militiamen have been killed in fierce clashes in the southern Philippines as troops ignored a truce offer and stepped up an anti-terrorist campaign. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas ambushed a group of government militias near the town of Upi in Maguindanao province at dawn, killing seven of them, regional army chief Major General Generoso Senga said. The rebels also fired rocket-propelled grenades into two detachments of the Marines, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The military immediately retaliated by launching air assaults against MILF positions in the area, leaving 12 of them dead, Major General Senga said. Four MILF rebels were also killed and six others captured when members of the army's 47th Infantry Battalion launched a preemptive raid against the guerrillas in nearby Datu Paglas town also in Maguindanao province. The military strike was ordered after the rebels were seen massing nearby, possibly to sabotage a power pylon owned by the state-run National Power Corporation, Major General Senga said. "This is a treacherous act of the MILF to declare a ceasefire on one hand and attacking government troops on the other," Major General Senga said.
| Islamists and treachery just seem to go together... |
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told AFP he was unaware of the reported MILF ambush, but said he knew that certain rebel positions were being bombarded by artillery fire and helicopter gunships. He accused the military of provoking the hostilities, as an "excuse to continue their offensives" despite an MILF offer of truce.
| "See? See? It's all their fault! We din't do nuttin'!" |
President Gloria Arroyo on Friday rejected a 10-day truce offered by the MILF, dismissing it as a "tactical ploy" to buy time amid a massive anti-terrorist campaign in the main southern island of Mindanao. "We will not stand for double talk. It is clear at this time, that the declaration of a ceasefire by the MILF is a ploy and a tactical ruse. Unless proof of sincerity is shown, punitive actions will continue," Ms Arroyo said. |