MANILA, Philippines – About 300 Muslim rebels were in a hostage standoff Monday with government troops after a rampage through coastal communities in the southern Philippines left at least eight people dead, officials said.
The fighting happened after the troops backed by tanks blocked Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas — armed by assault rifles — from marching into Zamboanga city to raise their flag at city hall, military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said.
He said the rebels were boxed into a Muslim coastal slum called Rio Hondo and were refusing to negotiate with security forces.
Zamboanga Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco said sporadic gunbattles had killed a navy special forces member, a policeman and four civilians, while 24 civilians, rebels and soldiers were wounded. The military said at least two guerrillas were killed.
The military and police said 20 residents were being held hostage by rebels in a village near Rio Hondo.
“Everything is being done to solve the crisis as soon as possible with minimal damage to lives and properties,” Climaco said.
Zagala said the rebels planned to march into Zamboanga, a bustling port city of nearly 1 million people, and hoist their flag at city hall but government forces discovered the plan three days ago and took defensive positions.
“We cannot allow another armed force to march around our cities. That is unacceptable,” he said.
TV footage showed troops and police forces in battle gear taking cover behind buildings as residents fled with bags of clothes.
The turbulence is the latest flare-up of Muslim unrest that has plagued the country’s poverty-stricken Mindanao region on and off for decades. It also shatters years of relative calm in Zamboanga city, a predominantly Christian region 860 kilometres (540 miles) south of Manila.
The Moro group signed a 1996 peace accord with the government, but hundreds of its fighters held on to their arms, and have accused officials of reneging on a promise to develop an autonomous region for minority Muslims in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.
The group later split into factions and faded in the background as its largest breakaway guerrilla bloc, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, gained strength and continued fighting.
The 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front has engaged the Philippine government in Malaysian-brokered peace talks, which have progressed recently toward a new Muslim autonomy deal. But a Moro National Liberation Front guerrilla faction led by Nur Misuari felt left out and has issued new threats.
The trouble in Zamboanga city began late Sunday when policemen arrested five Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas who were wearing combat camouflage uniforms and carrying pistols in Rio Hondo, the military said.
Then a navy patrol spotted a large boat and eight smaller vessels carrying dozens of armed guerrillas off Rio Hondo, sparking a gunbattle at sea that killed a member of the navy special forces and wounded six others, Zagala said.
The clash spilled into Rio Hondo, where bursts of gunfire forced hundreds of residents to flee.
Reinforcement troops and police were deployed to cut off the guerrillas.
菲军方发言人拉蒙·扎加拉说，根据驻当地海军部队的报告，当天凌晨５时左右，约百名全副武装的“摩解”成员乘船向靠近三宝颜市中心的一个人口稠密的社区发起进攻，与驻守当地的政府军和警察部队展开激战。
三宝颜市政府官员对当地电台记者说，“摩解”武装分子这次袭击的目标很可能是市政厅，当天１０时三宝颜市内的一些地方仍传出激烈枪声。
“摩解”是菲律宾南部反政府武装组织，由米苏阿里在１９７２年创建，当时的宗旨是在菲南部建立独立的伊斯兰国家。１９９６年，“摩解”与菲政府达成停火协议，根据协议，在菲南部的棉兰老岛上成立了棉兰老穆斯林自治区。阿基诺政府去年１０月１５日与从“摩解”分裂出来的“摩伊解”在马尼拉正式签署和平框架协议后，“摩解”的创始人米苏阿里反对和平框架协议的签署，并扬言重新开展武装斗争。
KOTA KINABALU : Malaysian security forces are on full alert along its borders in the east coast of Sabah following trouble in southern Philippines.
Hundreds of armed men who claimed to be from the Moro National Liberation Front attacked several cities in Zamboanga this morning.
Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) director general Datuk Mohammad Mentek said operations are on full alert following the attack.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and at the same time we are coordinating our safety and security measures on our end,” he said.
The MNLF led by former Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao governor Nur Misuari launched the offensive this morning.
Reports from the Philippine media claimed the armed men moved from the coastal villages in the Santa Barbara area in Zamboanga.
At least one policeman was killed, eight injured and 20 people were taken hostage in the city where schools and offices were ordered closed.
Security forces walks past debris scattered on a street after rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) clashed with government troops in Zamboanga city, southern Philippines September 9, 2013. Rebels took 30 civilian hostages in the southern Philippines on Monday and held security forces in a standoff as part of a drive to derail peace talks, officials said. Police commandos cordoned off parts of Zamboanga City on the island of Mindanao after a rogue faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) took hostages and tried to march to the city hall to raise their flag, an army commander said. REUTERS