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Philippines: Army says it has seized southern Muslim rebel camp
(AKI) - Philippine troops have seized a major Muslim rebel training camp on restive southern Mindanao island and killed seven guerrillas in a separate clash, the military said on Thursday.The Philippines army says over 100 rebels have been killed in a month-long operation in the south to hunt down three commanders from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. At least 22 soldiers have died and over 100 have been wounded in the bloody clashes, which have left Malaysian-brokered peace talks in shreds. At least 68 civilians have been killed and more than half a million people have been displaced or lost their homes and livelihoods on Mindanao since the military offensive began last month, according to the Philippines army. Besides the camp used by fugitive Moro rebel commander Abdulrahman Macapaar captured late on Wednesday, government troops have taken three other major rebel camps and 15 smaller ones over the past month, the army said. Macapaar and two other wanted MILF commanders attacked several predominantly Christian communities after negotiations on an expanded Muslim homeland stalled last month due to legal challenges raised by mainly Catholic politicians. In an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera on Thursday, MILF chief Haji al-Murad Ebrahim warned of war if the rebels are forced to defend themselves against an expanding government offensive. He said he did not want to have "another Iraq" in South-East Asia but if his forces were "pushed to the wall" they would have no option but to retaliate, Ebrahim said. Ebrahim rejected accusations from some intelligence agencies that the MILF has ties to Al-Qaeda, but admitted that anyone can infiltrate war-torn Mindanao "because there is no control of the area." The rebels have been waging a rebellion for nearly 40 years that has stunted growth in the poor region. It is believed to possess hydrocarbon and mineral deposits. Posted by: Fred 2008-09-19 |
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