Fighting erupts in southern Philippines

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels overran on Thursday two military outposts in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, a day after government troops bombarded its lair in the region, a rebel spokesman said. About 6 p.m. Wednesday, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said government militiamen delivered several rounds of 60- and 81-millimeter mortars to Camp Omar, which straddles the villages of Papikan, Kuloy and Bagong in Shariff Aguak town. The shelling continued overnight and stopped only when secessionist fighters were able to overrun two military detachments in Igana Zampong village at 2 p.m., Kabalu said. No immediate reports of casualties were available, although Kabalu claimed that based on witnesses, there were 10 bodies loaded inside a police car. “The shelling only stopped when we overran their detachments," Kabalu said. Armed Forces Southern Command spokesman Capt. Jose Ritchie Pabilonia could not confirm that the skirmish had occurred. Officials of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, which has responsibility over Maguindanao province, could not be reached for comment. The reported clash came as talks between the government and the MILF are at a standstill over the issue of ancestral domain. Philippine Defense chief Avelino Cruz Jr earlier said a peace agreement could be forged before the onset of the Ramadan period in September. Kabalu said the attack is a violation of an existing truce between government and rebel forces in southern Philippines. He said members of the MILF-Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities and the International Monitoring Team are presently coordinating with top military officials in Ccntral Mindanao to avert further escalation of violence. Told that the attacks could be part of efforts to serve warrants on MILF commanders Jamil Ombra and Sajid Pakiladato, Kabalu said that if such was the case, then it should have been the duty of the police to do so. Ombra and Pakildatao are wanted over the 2003 bombing that killed Datu Piang Mayor Saudi Ampatuan Sr. Kabalu denied the two were at Camp Omar at the time of the shelling. Ampatuan was the son of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan who survived a bomb attack in Shariff Aguak town last week. Five people, mostly security escorts of the governor, were killed and at least 10 others were wounded in the attack. - GMANews>TV