A total of 46 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have been killed in clashes that erupted in at least three provinces in the troubled Mindanao, the military reported Tuesday.
Major Armand Rico, spokesman of the Armed Forces' Eastern Mindanao Command, said the rebels were killed in the series of firefights in Brgy. Balike, Midsayap town in North Cotabato, Northern Kabuntalan town in Shariff Kabunsuan, and Tipo-Tipo in Basilan.
Rico said eight of the casualties were identified as members of the MILF's 105th Base Command led by Commander Ameril Umbra Kato; 11 were under a group led by Commander Wahid Tundok; six under a certain Commander Bruce Lee; another six under a certain Command Basco and Commander Mahmud.
Fifteen other MILF members were killed in Basilan, the military spokesman said. He said the MILF fighters in Basilan were led by Commander Rajah Mutalib.
Rico said among the fatalities was a sub-commander of Umbra Kato.
Meanwhile, the military said five soldiers have been confirmed killed in firefights in Aleosan in North Cotabato and Tipo-Tipo town. A total of 16 soldiers have been reported wounded in the clashes.
End in crisis seen
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu earlier said their forces have started withdrawing from the forcibly occupied villages in North Cotabato.
"Our forces on the ground are withdrawing from the conflict areas so we expect fighting to end by tomorrow (Wednesday)," Kabalu said. "We expect the situation to normalize."
Kabalu said fighting had subsided by Monday night after a two-day barrage of bombs and mortars rained down on farms and villages in North Cotabato.
Major Armand Rico, an army spokesman on the southern island, said soldiers were encountering less resistance from rebels, and on Tuesday "liberated" five more villages in North Cotabato province.
"Our troops are still clearing eight villages," Rico told reporters, adding soldiers were doing house-to-house search to make sure the rebels did not leave any booby traps.
"We're making sure the areas are safe before we could allow residents to move back to their homes and farms. We have cleared a total of seven villages and we hope to re-establish control in the remaining eight villages by tomorrow."
The government has accused hundreds of MILF guerrillas of occupying the villages and had given them an ultimatum to leave.
Analysts said both sides were flexing their military muscles after yet another setback in long-running talks to end the near 40-year separatist conflict in Mindanao that has killed over 120,000 people. With a report from Reuters
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