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| Southeast Asia | |
| Philippines says no let up in pursuit of Muslim gunmen | |
| 2005-02-11 | |
| ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) - The military will not ease its pursuit of Muslim gunmen who attacked an army attachment, triggering fighting that has killed more than 60 people, including 24 soldiers, the commander of troops in the southern Philippines said Friday. "At this stage we have to move on and continue on with our pursuit operation and hunt down those responsible for killing the soldiers,'' Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza told reporters after the body of a battalion commander killed the previous day was brought to a military chapel. Lt. Col. Dennis Villanueva, head of the army's 53rd Infantry Battalion, and two of his enlisted men were killed in a mortar attack by followers of jailed former Muslim separatist leader Nur Misuari on the southern island of Jolo Thursday. Braganza, commander of the military's Southern Command, said troops were "closing in'' on their targets. "We expect more fighting,'' he added. Braganza said he ordered troops on Wednesday to assault a camp of Misuari's followers after they killed 17 soldiers, including 13 marines, in an ambush on Monday. Misuari's followers said they were responding to alleged intrustions into their strongholds on Feb. 1, when the army was pursuing suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels in the area.
Two soldiers were also killed in that incident and two others died in mortar fire Tuesday, bringing the total number of troops killed so far to 24, according to government figures. About 40 troops were wounded. The military said 37 Misuari loyalists have died in the fighting. About 600 marines were deployed to reinforce 2,000 soldiers already on the ground. Air force planes bombarded the gunmen in Jolo's coastal town Panamao early Thursday prior to a large ground assault, the military said. Jolo Gov. Ben Loong said thousands of villagers have fled their homes in Panamao and outlying towns and gone to emergency shelters. Troops have been put on alert and security has been tightened in areas near Jolo, particularly in the southern port city of Zamboanga, to prevent diversionary attacks, including bombings, military spokesman Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual said. If they can, government forces want to capture or finish off the attackers now, he said. Misuari formerly headed the Moro National Liberation Front, a large Muslim separatist group that accepted limited autonomy and signed a peace accord with the government in 1996. But violence flared again years later and Misuari was imprisoned near Manila on charges of rebellion. Many of his armed followers still maintain strongholds in Jolo, and have been accused of supporting the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |