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| Southeast Asia | ||
| Troops, rebels ignore ceasefire calls in Philippine south | ||
| 2013-09-15 | ||
| Fighting intensified on Saturday in the southern Philippines between government troops and separatists, shattering a ceasefire almost immediately as it was to go into effect and leaving many residents running low on supplies. The army said 53 people had been killed in the fighting, now in its sixth day in the port city of Zamboanga, known as the city of flowers. Dozens have been wounded and more than 60,000 people displaced, with hundreds of homes razed and a hospital still in flames. Rebels have fired on government positions and seized civilians to use as human shields. The violence underscores the security challenge potential investors face in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country despite a strong second quarter economic performance. It also called into question a peace deal agreed last October with a larger Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Heavy fighting broke out after midnight in a coastal village as soldiers retook rebel positions, killing four guerrillas.
Abigail Valte, a presidential spokeswoman, told reporters in Manila, 850km to the north, that the ceasefire was never implemented. She accused the rebels of launching attacks through the night. In a radio interview, Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the vice-president had told him that a ceasefire deal had been clinched, but it had never gone into effect. “We will only stop firing at them when they stop firing at our troops and the civilians,” he said. Displaced city residents have been given temporary shelter. But government social workers said some residents trapped in two schools were running out of food as heavy fighting had pinned down relief workers delivering supplies. Banks, shops, offices and some petrol stations remained closed. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |