"130,000 displaced as fighting escalates in south Philippines; More troops sent to fight against Islamic separatists" by Carlos H. Conde, International Herald Tribune | August 12, 2008
MANILA - The number of Filipinos displaced from their homes reached 130,000 as fighting in the southern Philippines intensified with the military and the police sending more troops to fight against Islamic separatists, officials said.
The conflict, which began late last week, coincided with elections yesterday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that had, in the past, proved to be violent. Although officials said the elections went on peacefully, sporadic violence was reported, including the bombing of electric towers in one province.
Social-welfare officials warned of a potential humanitarian disaster as the fighting between troops and elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which had been confined to two provinces, threatened to spill over to other areas.
Thousands of refugees had been housed in more than 40 refugee centers, officials said, but most of them chose to leave their communities and seek shelter with relatives in other provinces.
Local media reported that thousands of residents, the majority of them Muslims, have been fleeing their homes since Friday, many in carts pulled by water buffalo, walking along a major national highway that had been ordered closed on Sunday after separatists commandeered a passenger bus.
Among those who fled with Dimalangan were old and sickly residents, and children. Hundreds sought shelter in sheds and warehouses along the highway.
As of yesterday, officials said two soldiers and at least 15 rebels had been killed in the fighting, which erupted on Thursday after separatist forces refused to vacate nine villages in North Cotabato Province.
The fighting heightened tension in the southern Philippines, especially because, two days before the conflict started, the Philippine Supreme Court prevented the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front from signing an agreement that both sides had thought could help end the decades-old separatist war.
The court's decision sprang from a petition filed by officials of North Cotabato, who feared that the agreement would allow the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to encroach into Christian territories, a charge that the group and the government denied. The court is set to make a final decision this month on whether to allow the signing of the agreement.
Eid Kabalu, a spokesman for the front, blamed government-backed civilian militias for the conflict. He said the front had wanted to "reposition its forces" but were attacked by the militias opposed to the peace agreement.
The administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been severely criticized for the way it handled the negotiations that led to the peace agreement, with many officials - including allies of the president as well as Filipino Muslims - saying that they were not consulted and that details of the agreement were deliberately withheld from the public."--more--"
What, she taking her cues from Bush now?
And I thought this article sounded familiar.
