Philippine Civil War Continues

Philippine combat troops

Fighting In Southern Philippines Kills 19 Muslim Rebels:
Military -- AFP

COTABATO, Philippines (AFP) — Renewed fighting in the restive southern Philippines has left 19 Muslim rebels dead, military officials said Thursday.

Fighting broke out Tuesday around the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan as troops hunted rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said Major Peter Edwin Navarro.

"At least three soldiers were wounded in the fighting," he said, adding that "eyewitnesses and civilians had confirmed the deaths of the MILF fighters."

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied Navarro's accounts, saying only one MILF fighter had been wounded while 10 soldiers had been killed by their forces.

Troops were closing in on MILF commander Umbra Kato, one of two senior guerrilla leaders who last month launched a series of attacks, burning and looting Christian villages.

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More News on The Philippines

Philippines government, rebels clash in southern Mindanao -- Radio Australia
Philippine military: Clashes kill 16 Muslim rebels -- International Herald Tribune
Half a million people displaced in South -- Business World Online
Military hampered by civilians’ ties to rebels -- Inquirer.net
Philippines clashes claim 26 lives -- Press TV

My Comment: This is a religious wars .... and such wars have rarely come to some sort of negotiation and compromise.