PI army launches offensive against Muslim rebels

Government troops traded mortar and artillery fire with hundreds of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in at least three towns in North Cotabato province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

At least two soldiers were wounded in initial clashes in Pikit town, according to Major Armand Rico, a regional military spokesman. Firefights were also reported in the nearby towns of Aleosan and Midsayap.

Brigadier General Jorge Segovia said authorities have used "all peaceful means" to convince hundreds of MILF guerrillas to vacate villages they forcibly took over since last month, burning homes and seizing farm animals.

"We are now compelled to resort to the application of proportionate and justifiable force so that peace and order may be restored in North Cotabato," he said.

"The government forces launched clearing operations in certain villages in North Cotabato as a due course for law enforcement," he added.

The rebel encroachment escalated last week after the Supreme Court halted the signing of a controversial Muslim homeland deal between the government and the MILF, which would have expanded an existing autonomous Muslim region in the southern Philippines.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council said the hostilities have forced 16,057 families or more than 80,000 individuals to flee their homes in five towns in North Cotabato.

Anthony Golez, a spokesman for the agency, said a command post was set up in Libungan town "to facilitate a systematic relief effort" for the displaced residents.

The MILF had agreed to reposition forces away from North Cotabato, but the withdrawal was delayed by sporadic clashes with pro-government militiamen.

MILF vice chairman Ghadzali Jaafar added that some rebels have become "emotional" and refused to leave after hearing criticisms over the stalled homeland deal.

"We are trying to calm them down," he said. "We are talking to them, explaining to them the primacy of the peace process." 

The signing of the ancestral domain agreement would have been a crucial step towards resuming formal peace talks between the Philippine government and the MILF, which have been stalled since December.

Under the deal, the Philippines would hold a plebiscite in 2009 to expand the existing six-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to include an additional of more than 700 villages.

The proposal also provides for the establishment of a new form of government for Muslims after a final peace deal is reached.

Critics alleged the deal violated the constitution and asked the Supreme Court to stop the signing. A hearing is scheduled for next week on the merits of the petition to nullify the agreement.

The 11,000-strong MILF has been fighting for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in Mindanao since 1978. It agreed to hold peace talks with the government in 1997.//Deutsche Presse-Agentur - August 10, 2008