May 3, 2000, BusinessWorld, Troops attack Moro rebels; 37 killed,

May 3, 2000, BusinessWorld, Troops attack Moro rebels; 37 killed,

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Government troops attacked Moro rebel positions in Mindanao early yesterday and at least 37 people have been killed in the fighting, officials and radio reports said. The clashes came as the government struggled to cope with two hostage dramas on outlying southern islands, involving elementary school children and foreign tourists kidnapped by another group of guerrillas.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) positions were being pounded by aerial bombardment and artillery fire, military spokesman Captain Ferdinand Bajarin told Reuters. "Fighting is still going on, there are approximately 1,000 rebels," he said. "The resistance is very strong, very heavy."

Seven troops and about 30 rebels have been killed, Mr. Bajarin said. Some 5,000 villagers in the region have fled, other officials said. The violence comes after the MILF suspended peace talks with the government last week, claiming the military had violated a cease-fire. MILF is one of two groups fighting for Moro self-rule in the Catholic-dominated Philippines.

Initial reports from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 6th Infantry Division stationed in Maguindanao state 6,903 Maguindanao and Cotabato residents abandoned their homes after heavy fighting erupted anew between government troops and Moro rebels along Narciso Ramos highway.

They belong to 1,672 families from Buldon, Matanog, and Barira towns in Maguindanao; and Pikit in Cotabato. They have fled to safer places. The residents evacuated to public school buildings and other evacuation centers in Maguindanao and Cotabato. Since April 28, government troops in Maguindanao have been conducting "clearing operations" along Narciso Ramos highway, where they are facing stiff resistance from MILF rebels.

SUSPENDED

Also, MILF "indefinitely suspended" recently its peace negotiations with the government, bolstering fears of an eruption of a war in Central Mindanao. AFP spokesman Colonel Rafael S. Romero said yesterday 11 soldiers were killed while 56 others were wounded in skirmishes along the 150-kilometer highway connecting Cotabato City and Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.

"The Armed Forces continues to clear the Narciso Ramos highway...of extortionists and other armed groups. Actually the people there have long wanted to have this area cleared of these lawless elements," Mr. Romero told a press briefing at the AFP headquarters in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Mr. Romero also said the military has taken control over MILF checkpoints along the highway. But he cited military intelligence reports that the MILF is beefing up forces in the area. Rebel troops from nearby camps Abubakar and Busra have been tapped to augment MILF forces along the highway, Mr. Romero said.

The Mindanao region has been the scene of fighting for centuries by the local Moro people against the government of the day in Manila. The Moros, who converted to Islam in the 14th century, have fought Spanish and US colonial governments, Japanese forces during World War Two and the Philippine government after independence.

Meanwhile, a group of armed men killed one of about 50 people they held hostage in Cotabato City before fighting it out and then eventually eluding government troops, a military official said. In a telephone interview, Armed Forces Southern Command spokesman Colonel Hilario Atendido said at least seven suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels were killed while an undetermined number were wounded as the military tried to rescue the hostages.

HOSTAGE

Mr. Atendido said the armed men flagged down a passenger bus on a road connecting to the Narciso Ramos highway and held its passengers hostage. Fighting ensued after government troops arrived in the area. The armed men withdrew to different directions. Mr. Atendido also said the hostage-taking incident coincided with an attack on a military detachment some two kilometers away.

While the military is yet to establish the connection of both events, Mr. Atendido said that there is a possibility that the hostage-taking situation may have been a diversionary tactic. At the Senate, Senator Blas F. Ople said MILF lost a vital foreign ally as Iraq pledged to support a united Philippines. In a statement, the Senate foreign relations committee chairman claimed to have been assured by the Iraqi parliament they would not support any attempt to divide the country.

The Iraqi officials also reportedly expressed concern over the war between government soldiers and Moro rebels in Mindanao. "In my talks with the leaders of Iraq, it is clear that they would not support any effort of the MILF to sow further havoc on innocent civilians," Mr. Ople said.

Also yesterday, Senator Rodolfo G. Biazon called for the dismantling of MILF's Camp Abubakar given the rebel group's reported withdrawal from the peace talks. "In the past, the government did not allow the existence of rebel camps anywhere in the country," the defense committee chairman said. He added that it was only when the government adopted the peace process as a national policy that it allowed the temporary existence of such camps. "However, this might have led the rebels especially the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf to think that they are in control of some parts of the territory of the Republic," he said. -- Reuters in Zamboanga City with Ruffy L. Villanueva and Norman P. Aquino in Manila