Toll Rises in Philippine Fighting
ICC Note: The Philippine government and militant Muslims seeking to establish an Islamic state under Sharia law are having more frequent battles as the nation slips slowly into war. Ostensibly these battles are the after effects of the kidnapping of a Catholic priest and the attacks on government troops by Islamic groups during the search for the hostage.
8/11/07 The Philippines (Aljazeera) –The MNLF blames the military for starting the latest violence by killing five fighters on Wednesday
The toll in clashes between the Philippine army and groups suspected of links with al-Qaeda on Jolo island in the country’s south has risen to at least 54, the military says.
Philippine troops shelled separatist positions overnight, a day after intense fighting left dozens dead on both sides.
No new clashes were reported on Friday as the military suspended operations at dawn following a request from the provincial governor, citing the Muslim holiday.
The latest field reports showed 26 soldiers and 28 Muslim fighters had been killed since clashes began on Thursday.
The military suspects members of the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to be behind the ambush
Sakur Tan, the Sulu provincial governor, said he has instructed the mayors of Maimbung and Indanan to prepare evacuation centres for residents who may have to flee due to the conflict.
Members of the MNLF have been unhappy with the government for trying to sign a deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which broke away from the MNLF.
The MNLF, having signed a peace deal in 1996, said the government should first fulfil the obligations due to it.
The group claimed it was behind the ambush, saying it was in retaliation for the deaths of five people during an army offensive a day earlier.
“It was not the Abu Sayyaf,” Hatimil Hassan, the deputy chairman of the MNLF, said on local TV. “It was our troops. It was the military’s fault. They started it all.”
Last month, members of the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim separatist group, killed 14 soldiers in an attack on the nearby island of Basilan .
Many of the soldiers were beheaded but the MILF, which is meant to be in peace talks with Manila , has denied its members mutilated the troops.
The military blames members of the Abu Sayyaf for the decapitations
Due to family ties on Jolo and Basilan, there are close links between the Abu Sayyaf, the MNLF and the MILF and sometimes an overlap in membership.
The Philippine government wants to seal a peace deal with the MILF but has sworn to crush the Abu Sayyaf, which is blamed for the Philippines ‘ worst attack – a ferry bombing that killed more than 100 people in 2004.
The islands of the southern Philippines , especially Jolo and Basilan, are hotbeds of separatist activity. They are also home to bandit and pirate gangs that prey on shipping in the South China Sea .
