The United States government on Monday warned its citizens not to travel to North Cotabato and Central Mindanao following the outbreak of hostilities between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and government troops in the area.
This developed as around 130,000 people fled from their homes as fighting intensified between soldiers and MILF rebels Monday, the same day that elections in the six-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were held.
In an advisory posted on the US Embassy in Manila Web site, the US advised Americans to "avoid those areas of North Cotabato province where military operations are ongoing and to exercise extreme caution in Central Mindanao."
"US citizens living and working in Central Mindanao are urged to reassess their personal security, keep a low profile, and avoid public gathering places," the advisory said.
It also urged Americans living or traveling in the Philippines to register with the US Embassy through the State Department’s travel registration Web site, http://travelregistration.state.gov so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security within the Philippines.
Air Force planes bombed suspected MILF positions in North Cotabato on Sunday after hundreds of guerrillas refused to leave Catholic farmlands they have occupied since last month.
But the military said the escalating violence would not halt voting in local elections in Muslim areas elsewhere on the resource-rich southern island of Mindanao on Monday.
"Fighting has not spilled over to the Muslim areas," Brig. Gen. Jorge Segovia, an Army spokesman, said. "We have sufficient forces to contain the violence in North Cotabato."
Other Stories
Govt agents bag kidnap boss in Zamboanga
Military and police agents captured an alleged sub-commander of a kidnap-for-ransom group during a maritime interdiction off the coast of Tictabon Island in Zamboanga City late Sunday night.abs-cbnNEWS.com