Armed Forces’ chief Gen. Alexander Yano confirmed Friday that "a few brief" skirmishes took place as Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters have started leaving contentious areas in North Cotabato province.
"There were a few brief firefights overnight but no reported deaths or injuries," Yano said.
The military chief said the MILF rebels in "certain contentious areas" in North Cotabato started vacating Friday morning.
Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Philippine Army spokesman, said an undetermined number of MILF fighters attacked an Army detachment in Barangay Baliki, Midsayap around 5 a.m.
Brawner said the MILF forces fired an 81-mm mortar into the detachment. No one was hurt in the clash, he said.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, meanwhile, said the military fired 10 rounds of 81-mm mortar into a small village in Aleosan town around 9:30 a.m.
Kabalu said there were no reported injuries in the mortar shelling. He also denied that the mortars were directed at MILF forces.
The MILF spokesman said he doesn't know the military's reason for the mortar shelling.
Coordinated by CCCH
Kabalu said the MILF started to reposition its troops from the forcibly occupied villages around 7 a.m.
He said the rebels were transferred to an agreed point. He said the areas of transfer were agreed by the Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities of the Philippine government and the MILF after a meeting Thursday night.
The government gave the MILF rebels 24 hours to leave five towns and at least nine villages in North Cotabato province or risk being forced out by the military.
The alleged MILF occupation left more than 6,000 people homeless. The government said the evacuated people are residents of Midsayap and Aleosan towns.
"We appreciate the decision of the MILF and view it as a step forward in our quest for lasting peace in Mindanao," Yano said.
Troops began taking up positions around the occupied areas late Thursday.
Brigadier-General Reynaldo Sealana, member of the government's negotiating team, said the rebels gathered in three groups and would be given "safe passage out of the area."
Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno gave the rebels a Friday noon deadline to leave the occupied areas.
"We are giving those individuals 24 hours to vacate or they will be forcibly separated from the area," Puno said at a press conference Thursday.
Asked if his warning was an open declaration of war, Puno said: "No. It's a declaration of the enforcement of the law."
"The government will not allow these things to happen. We're giving them a deadline otherwise; they shall be forcibly removed from the area."
Sporadic skirmishes
Sporadic skirmishes erupted between MILF and government forces in the south since Monday -- the day the Supreme Court halted the signing of a Muslim homeland agreement.
The agreement was meant to pave the way for a final political settlement to end MILF's 30-year fight for an independent Islamic state in the southern third of this largely Roman Catholic nation.
The 12,000-strong MILF has insisted Manila cannot renege on the deal, which gives them control over large swathes of land on the southern island of Mindanao, southern Palawan and the Sulu archipelago.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has said the deal was not unconstitutional and he was confident it would eventually be signed. With Agence France Presse