File photo shows a Philippine Air Force C-130 transport plane on a military operation at Jolo airport. A C-130 military cargo plane with two pilots and seven crewmen on board has gone missing in the southern Philippines (AFP/File/Therence Koh) Rebel Fighting in Philippines Intensifies -- New York Times
MANILA — Fighting in the southern Philippines between government troops and Islamic separatists is intensifying by the day, with the number of the displaced now reaching 300,000, officials and aid workers said Tuesday.
Army officials estimated that 150 rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have been killed in the past five days and said that government troops overran 15 rebel camps during one of the most significant offensives since peace negotiations began 11 years ago.
The military said the assaults, which started in several provinces in the southern region of Mindanao last week, are directed at three commanders of the front who they say were responsible for a rampage this month in which 33 people were killed.
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My Comment: This low intensity war is now one step away from a full scale civil war. This conflict will pitch Muslim against Christian, and has the potential to be one of Asia's bloodiest wars ... rivaling the civil war that is now occurring in Sri Lanka.
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