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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippine troops withdraw after deadly clash with Muslim rebels |
| 2007-03-07 |
| Philippine troops withdrew from several southern villages after isolated clashes with Muslim rebels killed 18 guerrillas and a soldier, officials said Wednesday. Maj. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the army's 6th Infantry Division, ordered troops to leave the villages in Midsayap town to avoid a further escalation of violence with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea. The MILF rebels and the military, which have been observing a 2003 truce despite occasional clashes, have accused each other of initiating the fighting on Monday and Tuesday in Midsayap, 890 kilometers (550 miles) south of Manila. Rebel and government representatives met Tuesday afternoon with Malaysian-led truce monitors after the clashes subsided. Pajarito said the body of another guerrilla was discovered Wednesday, raising the number of dead rebels to 18. Midsayap Mayor Romeo Arana said soldiers have left three villages at the center of the conflict, and that he was overseeing the return of about 4,500 residents who had fled the fighting. Von al Haq, the MILF co-chairman of a joint cease-fire committee, said by telephone that the MILF, the military and truce monitors were preparing to travel to the area to verify the withdrawal. "Let us see how sincere the army is," he said. He said the fighting occurred in villages on the fringe of the Liguasan marsh, where MILF members moved last month under an agreement to redeploy away from a highway, after clashing with the military in January. "We're almost pushed to the wall," al Haq said, adding that the fighting broke out after soldiers — who had provided security for a U.S. military team on a medical mission over the weekend — encroached into the MILF position, with only 300 meters (1,000 feet) separating the two forces. "The military has been slowly trying to ease us out," said MILF spokesman Eid "Lipless Eddie" Kabalu. Al Haq, in statement posted on the MILF Web site, said soldiers took "a seemingly premeditated move" to drive Muslims away from the town and deprive them of their claim to their ancestral territory — a key issue in stalled peace talks. "We have no interest in operating there," said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, accusing the MILF of attacking soldiers who were merely manning their detachments, and spreading rumors that the military was about to strike. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 Now that the Phil Army is involved it is turning into a goat F#$K! Time for 6ID to pull out and send the Marines under MG Sabban back into the fight. I can only imagine the Army is now involved because Sabban was stealing the political limelight. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2007-03-07 19:18 |
| #1 Drop a dead pig carcass into the well of any village helping the rebels and you'll find a lot less villagers willing to help the rebels. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-03-07 11:35 |