Many dead in Philippines fighting

28/03/2009| IslamWeb

At least 27 people, including seven soldiers, have been killed in fighting between Philippine security forces and members of the largest Muslim anti-government group in the south of the country, according to an army spokesman.

The Philippine military has been fighting a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the island of Mindanao for the last eight months.

Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Ponce said that soldiers killed about 20 fighters and that dozens more were wounded during an eight-hour battle on Friday near the Liguasan marsh area.

"We recovered mangled bodies in the area," he said.

"Some bodies were hanging on tree tops. They got hit by our artillery shelling. But we lost seven men and five were also wounded."

Clearing operations

Troops were still on clearing operations and were chasing remnants of an 80-member group camping in the area, Ponce said.

Nearly 500 people have been killed in clashes since August last year when peace talks between the government and the MILF stalled after Manila's high court scrapped a proposed deal to cede a larger ancestral homeland for Muslims in the south.

The Philippines is now trying to restart talks and has formed a new peace negotiating panel. Malaysia is expected to mediate between the government and the MILF.

The group has been fighting for self-determination for nearly 40 years. The conflict has claimed 120,000 lives and displaced two million people.

At the height of fighting last year, nearly 700,000 people were also forced to abandon their homes and farms.

PHOTO CAPTION

Map of Philippines locating the island of Mindanao

Agencies