воскресенье, 26 февраля 2012 г.

Militants lay waste to towns.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

Muslim separatist rebels left a trail of bloodied corpses and burning homes after a series of pre-dawn attacks yesterday on towns in the restive southern Philippines.President Gloria Arroyo branded the attacks by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas as C[pounds sterling]sneaky and treacherousC[yen] and in clear violation of peace negotiations, and ordered the army to C[pounds sterling]defend every inchC[yen] of soil.Nine people were found lying bloodied by a roadside in one village as black smoke billowed from houses burning in the background.Five other civilians were killed in another village by the marauding MILF fighters, fleeing residents said.Some of the dead had been hacked by machetes.In other assaults, hundreds of MILF rebels raided the towns of Kauswagan, Maigo and Kolambugan in Lanao del Norte province and Maasim in the province of Sarangani, all on the island of Mindanao, officials said.More than 200 guerrillas fought intense gun battles with troops and police in the centre of the mainly Christian town of Kolambugan, said mayor Beltran Lumaque.C[pounds sterling]They have taken over the business centre, the rural banks, pawnshops,C[yen] he said, adding houses were on fire and many residents had fled heavy fighting in the town centre.C[pounds sterling]We need reinforcements,C[yen] he urged, as the shooting raged on.Provincial spokesman Lyndon Calica said MILF rebels had overrun and torched a police outpost and burned vehicles. Calica said the rebels started withdrawing from Kolambogan at noon, about nine hours after launching the raid, and freed some 50 hostages they had used as C[pounds sterling]human shieldsC[yen].However, sporadic clashes continued in other towns.Another rebel unit struck the town of Maasim, leaving two civilians dead as they ransacked a pawnshop and looted a drug store for medicines.In a nationwide address, Arroyo said she had ordered the armed forces and police to C[pounds sterling]defend every inch of Philippine territory against MILF forcesC[yen] and restore peace in the affected areas.Arroyo added: C[pounds sterling]We will not tolerate and will crush any attempt to disturb peace and development in Mindanao,C[yen] the countryCOs main southern island where the MILF has waged a rebellion since 1978.

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