December 31, 2001, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 13 slain in latest clash with Misuari followers, by Martin P. Marfil and Christine O. Avendano, 

MARINE troops raided a guerrilla camp in the Sulu jungle Saturday, setting off a clash that killed 13 combatants, including two soldiers, the Associated Press quoting the military reported Sunday.

The five-hour clash on Jolo island was the latest in a series of battles in Mindanao where government troops have been battling insurgents and kidnap gangs.

The marines stumbled on the rebel encampment near the coastal town of Luuk while searching for armed men who wounded about a dozen marines in an ambush last week, said Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu, Southern Command chief.

Cimatu said the rebels consisted of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and followers of Nur Misuari, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao who stands accused of rebellion.

Some 40 rebels, reinforced by about 100 of their comrades, fought in the clash that killed at least 11 guerrillas and two soldiers. At least 17 rebels and four soldiers were wounded, Cimatu said.

The rebels withdrew in small groups and were being chased by the soldiers, Cimatu said. He said the military learned of the rebel casualties through two-way radio intercepts.

Misuari is being held in Malaysia where he was arrested Nov. 24 while fleeing a Philippine military manhunt following a failed attempt at a rebellion by his followers.

Philippine officials said Misuari will be brought back to the country next month for trial.

Misuari, a former separatist guerrilla leader who signed a peace accord with the government in 1996, reportedly had allied himself with the Abu Sayyaf in recent months to stage attacks and disrupt the elections that picked his successor as ARMM governor.

The Abu Sayyaf has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network and is currently holding an American couple and a Filipino nurse captive on the island of Basilan.

Philippine soldiers, backed by the US military with weapons and combat training, have been hunting the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas since May to rescue the hostages and destroy the rebel group.

The Philippine military warned yesterday it would treat the Misuari renegade group as "terrorists" if they continued to exploit the arrest of their leader in Malaysia.

The warning came from military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, who said the military has prepared several sites, including Fort Bonifacio in Makati, to hold Misuari in the event of his return to the country by Jan. 15.

"If they continue to threaten the peace, then they will be held responsible and face government preventive action... they will be treated as terrorists if they continue to exploit the arrest of Misuari for their own selfish ends and renege on the peace agreement," Adan said of Misauri's followers.

His remarks came in the wake of reports that Misuari would be handed over by Malaysia to the Philippines by Jan. 15.

Yesterday, Adan said both the police and the military had scouted around for a possible detention site for Misuari that included camps in and around Metro Manila.

Government authorities have filed rebellion charges against Misuari.

"The court would have a final say on that, upon the recommendation of the police. So on the part of the armed forces, we are preparing detention sites," Adan said.

For now, the military spokesperson said many of Misuari's followers have expressed a desire to live up to the 1996 peace agreement.

"While they sympathize with Misuari's plight, which is understandable, the government and the military can assure them he will be treated with respect. So they have nothing to worry about," Adan said.

With Misuari's impending deportation from Malaysia, a Mindanao congressman insisted yesterday the Moro leader was better off living in exile abroad "for now."

Basilan Rep. Gerry Salappudin, deputy speaker for Mindanao, said Misuari should be allowed to go to a third country for a "few years."

"This is to allow the new ARMM leadership to stabilize and govern effectively," Saluppudin said in a phone interview from Greece, as he acknowledged that Misuari still has his followers.

He suggested a third country could take Misuari on condition he does not conduct political activities against the Philippines and ARMM while in exile.