January 21, 2002, Albany Times Union, U.S. Aid, Troops in Philippines,

January 21, 2002, Albany Times Union, U.S. Aid, Troops in Philippines,

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- U.S. military cargo planes brought more troops and equipment to the southern Philippines on Sunday amid growing protests against American involvement in the government's efforts to quash Muslim guerrillas.

Three U.S. Air Force C-130s arrived at an air base in the southern port city of Zamboanga carrying several soldiers, a forklift, a power generator, engineering equipment and a truck and trailer loaded with communications gear.

Capt. Noel Detoyato, spokesman for the Philippine military's Southern Command, said the Americans were part of a contingent that would train Filipino special forces battling Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in the jungles of nearby Basilan island, 540 miles south of Manila.

U.S. and Philippine officials say the Abu Sayyaf have been linked with Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror network.

Journalists were barred from interviewing the Americans, who were dressed in camouflage and carried no visible firearms.

The gradual U.S. military buildup in Zamboanga and Basilan is part of preparations for a six-month training exercise in which small teams of armed U.S. Army Special Forces are expected to enter combat zones to assess their Filipino counterparts and their needs.

Some 660 U.S. soldiers, including 160 Special Forces, are to take part in the training exercise. The U.S. troops cannot engage guerrillas but can defend themselves.

Welcomed by the ill-equipped Philippine military, the U.S. involvement has raised concerns over legal restrictions on foreign troops and rekindled anti-American sentiment in the former U.S. colony.

Hundreds of leftist activists used protests on the first anniversary Sunday of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's rise to power to demand American troops leave the country.

Outside the presidential palace in Manila, protesters hurled tomatoes at a giant effigy of Arroyo on a mock throne adorned with American flags and a sign that read "Traitor." Another placard read "U.S. terrorist troops, go home!"