A local chief executive in Lanao del Norte province called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) atrocities as "inhuman" after recovering Tuesday the mutilated corpse of a seven-year-old boy in Kolambugan town.
Kolambugan Mayor Bertrand Lumaque said the boy's stomach was hacked open by the MILF fighters who abducted at least 134 residents after attacking the town.
Lumaque said the boy and hundreds of other villagers were used by the separatists as human shields while they were retreating on Monday.
He said the boy's body was found near a river. He added that the boy's father was also murdered by the fleeing rebels.
"This morning (Tuesday) we recovered a body of a seven-year-old. His father was brutally killed yesterday. What they did was inhuman, the boy's stomach was open," Lumaque told ABS-CBN News Channel.
Lumaque said a total of 17 bodies have been recovered in Kolambugan town since Monday afternoon. He said the MILF rebels may be holding at least six more villagers.
Meanwhile, Lumaque said the local government has placed Kolambugan municipality under a state of calamity.
He said at least 15,000 residents were affected by the atrocities of the rebels led by Commander Bravao of the MILF's 102nd Base Command. Commander Bravo's group also attacked villages in Linamon and Kauswagan towns in Lanao del Norte.
As of 6 a.m. the National Disaster Coordinating Council has counted 20 fatalities in the MILF's atrocities that started Sunday. There were also 30 people reported hurt during the attack.
Media reports, meanwhile, said at least 31 people, including three soldiers, were killed by the rebels in Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces.
President Arroyo has ordered the police and the military to defend "every inch of Philippine territory" and pursue the MILF groups who carried out the attacks.
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