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| Southeast Asia | |
| Muslim rebels launch mortar attack on army camp in the Philippines | |
| 2007-03-08 | |
| Muslim guerrillas fired mortar rounds Thursday on an army camp in a southern Philippine town where they had earlier battled troops, causing no injuries but raising concern over the future of the peace process, officials said. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas fired about four 81 mm mortar rounds toward the army's 40th Infantry Battalion headquarters before dawn, but missed the target, damaging nearby houses in Salunayan village in Midsayap town, the officials said. The blasts roused villagers from sleep but there was no immediate sign they were about to flee, Midysayap police chief Superintendent Chino Mamburam said.
Oh. Well. If it's a matter of Dire Revenge™ then it's okay... Muslim rebel spokesman Eid "Lipless Eddie" Kabalu said the guerrillas launched the mortar attack because army troops continued to move into guerrilla positions despite efforts by a government-rebel ceasefire committee to contain days of sporadic fighting. "We're being pushed against the wall," Kabalu told The Associated Press by telephone. "We have no recourse but to fight back." The fighting will not end unless army troops withdraw far from rebel positions, he said. He claimed some local officials were backing the army incursions because they wanted the guerrillas to leave the predominantly Christian town, 890 kilometers (550 miles) south of Manila. "These people wanted to derail the peace process," Kabalu said. Army officials, however, said troops withdrew from several Midsayap villages Wednesday to avoid escalation of violence with the MILF. | |
| Posted by:ryuge |