Govt, MILF exchange blame after clashes

The military and Moro rebels exchanged charges of violating a cease-fire Monday after some of the worst fighting this year in Mindanao killed several people and displaced around 1,000.

The military said seven rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were killed in fighting last week between the separatist group and army-backed militia forces that forced many residents to flee the area.

The MILF denied any of its members died and said it had killed three militia men.

Brigadier-General Alexander Yano, head of the government's truce panel, said the fighting in four villages in Mamasapano town, central Mindanao, last week was triggered by a personal vendetta between feuding families.

He said the army might file a formal complaint against the MILF for violating a 15-month-old cease-fire by massing its forces and attacking farming villages in Mindanao's central region.

"That was a violation of the cease-fire agreement," Yano told Reuters. "We're now taking all necessary measures to prevent a repeat of the incident."

Yano said the government was confident the fighting would not affect the resumption of formal peace talks after a three-year break later this month in Kuala Lumpur.

The talks to end a 35-year separatist rebellion in the southern Philippines are being brokered by Malaysia.

But a MILF spokesman said elements within the military opposed to the peace talks might be exploiting long-standing clan wars among Muslims to provoke fresh fighting between rebels and soldiers.

"The MILF is worried about the situation," said Eid Kabalu.

"The people there are still afraid because of continued army presence in the Muslim communities. They are worried the military will launch bigger operations against us."

He said the army would be violating a cease-fire agreement by allowing militia forces to attack MILF positions.

Lieutenant-General Alberto Braganza, commander of military forces in Mindanao, said calm had now returned to the area, assuring rebels and local residents the government has no intention of escalating tensions there.

"We have troops in the area, but they are not there to mount any military operation," he told reporters. "Our soldiers there are peacekeepers. They are trying to keep apart the two warring families."

Yano said government and rebel cease-fire panels were sending a joint monitoring team to the area to prevent another gun battle.