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| Sunday, 16 February 2003 |
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Philippine troops overrun key Muslim rebel camp after intense fight Soldiers overran an enclave of Muslim separatist guerrillas in the southern Philippines Saturday after intense fighting this week that has reportedly left nearly 200 dead, officials said. Troops were seen preparing mortars and unloaded ammunition as they set up camp in the shadow of a mosque gest Muslim separatist group waging a 25-year-old campaign to set up an Islamic state in Mindanao. Military spokesman Major Julieto Ando said that the latest round of fighting, which began on Tuesday, had largely subsided but that the MILF continued to harass military positions. Occasional gunfire and shelling could be heard about two kilometers (3.2 miles) away from Bago Ingid, a village within the sprawling Buliok complex, which was once a haven for the guerillas. The military found abandoned clothing and MILF ammunition in foxholes at Bago Ingid. "They have no more food, they have no more ammunitioin a reminder of the prevalent danger, an armored vehicle rolled into the village, carrying the body of a slain soldier wrapped in plastic. The other troops said that the dead man had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade which blew his head off. Eid Kabalu, the spokesman for the 12,500-member MILF, said the rebel fighters abandoned the Buliok complex because "there is nothing that would require our forces to continue holding (it), ABS-CBN television reported. The military attacked the MILF forces in the Buliok complex on Tuesday, charging that the MILF were using it to give sanctuary for outlaw groups allegedly involved in kidnapping for ransom and bombings. A government tally late Friday said 175 people have been killed, including 161 guerrillas and associated armed groups, eight soldiers and militiamen, and seven civilians. Some 5,000 soldiers were deployed in the campaign. The bodies of only 43 guerillas had been found, but the death toll made the hostilities the most serious flare-up of the 25-year-old MILF rebellion since 2000, when the military seized more than 40 MILF camps. Kabalu said only about 40 MILF rebels had been killed and accused the military of inflating their figures. More than 41,0in evacuation camps. Kabalu said that the fighting would affect peace talks scheduled to resume this month. He said that before the peace process could proceed, the military must disengage from the MILF and pull back troops. |
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