SECOND DAY OF MUSLIM REVOLT IN MINDANAO, TOLL HITS 16
ZAMBOANGA, February 8, 2005 (STAR) (AFP) A Muslim rebellion entered its second day on the southern Philippines island of Jolo Tuesday as the toll rose to 16 dead, military officials said.Skirmishes were reported around the town of Panamao between several hundred followers of Nur Misuari, a politician and former separatist guerrilla leader, and Philippines security forces.
Thirteen Marine soldiers died in one ambush in Patikul in southern Jolo on Monday after fighting erupted earlier in the day between soldiers and rebels, Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual said.
Also on Monday another soldier was slain in fighting in Panamao while two Muslim soldiers, who were rebuilding a mosque as part of a civic project, were killed in an attack in Parang, Brigadier General Agustin Dema-ala said.
Dema-ala, commander of an anti-terrorist task force based on Jolo, said there were reports of the rebels also suffering casualties.
The rebellion started when at least 400 Misuari supporters had attacked several Jolo military detachments at dawn Monday, armed with recoilless rifles and other assault weapons.
Aside from the military outposts, security sources said the raiders also targetted government projects including bridges, roads, and clinics.
Military officials said they believed the Misuari faction had received help from the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim kidnap gang based on Jolo that is on the US list of foreign terrorist organizations.
The Abu Sayyaf kidnapped several European and US tourists several years ago, reportedly raising millions of US dollars in ransom for some of the hostages.
Two American captives were later killed in captivity.
Misuari, who led a decades-old Muslim separatist rebellion in the south from the early 1970s, signed a peace pact with the government in 1996, and was later elected governor of a Muslim autonomous region in the area.
But he and his followers launched a new rebellion in 2001 after the national government refused to endorse his re-election bid.
The government crushed the uprising in Jolo and nearby Zamboanga city with the loss of more than 100 lives and Misuari fled to nearby Malaysia, where he was arrested and deported in early 2002.
Misuari is now detained at a police camp south of Manila while on trial for rebellion.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2005
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved