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UPDATED: Thousands flee Philippine fighting
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by danesller0127 | August 11, 2008 at 09:33 am
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Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in southern Philippines after fierce clashes between Muslim separatists and government troops broke out.
But officials vowed to press on with a contentious local election on Monday.
The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had called for elections in the six-province Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao to be cancelled because they want a new Muslim homeland with more political powers established as part of a comprehensive peace deal.
The Philippine military pounded rebel Muslim positions on Sunday, shooting off a barrage of artillery and mortar fire and firing rockets from helicopters at suspected MILF positions in North Cotabato province after hundreds of separatists refused to leave Catholic farmlands they have occupied since last month.
Lieutenant-General Cardozo Luna, the military vice-chief of staff, said the separatists entrenched themselves in the remote villages despite a government ultimatum to leave.
Breakaway group
Luna said the military operation, involving more than 2,000 troops, was not directed against MILF in general, but a group headed by MILF commander Umbra Kato, who is no longer following the orders of the group's main leadership.
"The MILF rebels have defied their own leadership and have refused to leave the area," he said.
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at 12:09 on August 11th, 2008
Nearly 130,000 people fled their homes and more than half were staying in temporary shelters while dozens of houses were destroyed, a disaster official said.
But the military said the escalating violence would not halt voting in local elections in Muslim areas elsewhere on the resource-rich southern island of Mindanao on Monday.
Brigadier-General Jorge Segovia, an army spokesman, said "fighting has not spilled over to the Muslim areas".
The violence is the worst seen since the Supreme Court halted plans to establish an extended Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines last week.
source: Agencies/aljazeera.com
at 12:45 on August 11th, 2008
danesller0127, I like this story. It's good stuff.
What's happening all over the planet all of a sudden ?
And, heck, it's not even the full-moon yet ...
at 13:01 on August 11th, 2008
Many thanks indeed!!! Emilio' for the input, much appreciated...
It's quiet alarming!!! I'm worried...
Moro Islamic Liberation Front forces attacked Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan yesterday, occupying the municipal building, schools and a number of houses, a Marine officer said last night.
At least 15 MILF fighters, a Marine, a militiaman and two civilians were killed, Lt. Col. Leonard Vincent Teodoro of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 7 said.
At least 300 rebels entered the town around 8 a.m. and started withdrawing at 8 p.m. under aerial bombing. Government forces have yet to take full control of the town at press time, Teodoro said. (source: malaya.com)
at 12:50 on August 11th, 2008
Families flee from fighting between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Pikit, North Cotabato on Sunday, Aug 10, 2008. Government troops attacked the Muslim guerillas after hundreds of rebels defied an ultimatum to withdraw from villages they had occupied. (source: AP/mb.com.ph)
at 14:18 on August 12th, 2008
The latest report: Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008
Philippine Muslim group 'wiyhdraw'
Muslim fighters have begun withdrawing from positions in the southern Philippines after several days of heavy fighting.
Security forces said on Tuesday that Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters torched property and planted landmines as they began withdrawing from villages and towns in North Cotabato province on the southern island of Mindanao.
The move comes as relief agencies ferry in food to avert a humanitarian crisis among the thousands who have fled the violence, officials said.
Elias Dandan, Pikit police chief Inspector, told the AFP news agency the fighters burned buildings, including a church in the town, and planted landmines and booby-traps as they retreated.
source: Al Jazeera and agencies