Army crackdown

Thousands of people living in Payao, Alicia and Talusan on Mindanao Island, home to a decades-long insurgency, have abandoned their homes and sought refuge in safer areas. The exodus has been confirmed by the Philippine authorities.

The government says the fighting and population movements were triggered by a military operation against "lawless elements" involved in abductions. However, Muslim rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) allege that government forces have also targeted their fighters. The army claims that civilian residents fled the area before the fighting began.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said that soldiers and police were advancing on gunmen, who were hidden in bunkers and trenches and believed to be holding a local businesswoman hostage. No air strikes would be conducted on Tuesday, he said.

Peace Process not to stop

The fighting comes just days after 19 special forces commandos were gunned down by MILF fighters after they strayed into rebel territory on the adjacent island of Basilan. At least 35 people have been killed in Mindanao and Basilan in a week of fighting. The MILF attacks triggered military air strikes and a ground assault on Monday, in which two soldiers and six gunmen died, according to government figures.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Monday ordered security forces to crack down on Muslim criminal gangs, but rejected calls from political allies to attack the country's largest Muslim rebel group and stop peace negotiations.

Since 1997, the MILF has engaged in sporadic talks with Manila to end more than four decades of conflict that has killed nearly 120,000 people, displaced two million and hampered growth in poor but resource-rich Muslim areas.

Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (Reuters, AFP, AP)
Editor: Grahame Lucas