Philippine troops retook several southern towns yesterday where Muslim rebels burned houses and shot or hacked to death at least 34 people earlier in the day in what the guerrillas said was an outburst of frustration with an uncertain peace process.
The retreating Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels took dozens of civilians hostage in Kolambugan town as a human shield, said Brigadier General Antonio Supnet, head of an army brigade that drove away the rebels.
Officials said 23 civilians were killed in Kauswagan and Kolambugan, including villagers who were taken hostage, a group of farmers and two bus passengers who were hit by rebel gunfire. At least eight soldiers were killed, the army said.
Supnet said more than 20 houses were burned in Kauswagan alone and hundreds of displaced villagers were streaming into evacuation centers in nearby Iligan city.
William Sechico, 14, from Kolambugan, said he and his five siblings and parents were asleep when their house came under fire.
“My father died,” he said. “We hid in the bushes at the back of our house until 1pm today.”
General Alexander Yano said troops launched an offensive in response to yesterday’s attack by about 300 guerrillas on the coastal towns in Lanao del Norte Province.
TV footage showed mayhem in one smoldering village as residents ran for cover, jumping over the fences of their roadside houses.
Burned-out vehicles littered the street. A photographer said up to 100 people escaped in dozens of boats to Iligan because the main highway was blocked.
The escalation of fighting on Mindanao island came amid uncertainty over a fragile peace process after the Supreme Court blocked a preliminary deal with the MILF.
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