President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the arrest of former governor of Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Nur Misuari for the raid on an army headquarters, several police stations and military detachments which killed 113 people in Jolo on November 19.

"He is charged with rebellion. He should go through the normal process which includes a court trial," said Arroyo from Mexico City's Hotel Camino Real, the transcript of which reached Manila.

The government has several witnesses who could testify to Misuari's role in the faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which attacked the 104th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces, said Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina.

Jolo Municipal Trial Court executive judge Abduwahid Alba signed Misuari's order of arrest. Authorities vowed to get him dead or alive, but his whereabouts could not be ascertained. Our Zamboanga Correspondent adds: Over 4,000 troops backed by helicopter gunships scoured the Jolo hinterlands for Misuari, resulting in the capture of five MNLF camps in Jolo, said Southern Command chief Lt Genera Roy Cimatu.

Navy boats patrolled the borders to prevent the MNLF forces from escaping to Sabah, said Cimatu, adding the military will prevent any disruption of the ARMM elections. "We are anticipating bombings and terrorism during Monday's elections. Misuari's objective is to disrupt the elections," said Cimatu.

Soldiers cleared Patikul town of former militants, but fighting continued in the towns of Maimbung, Indanan and Panamao. "There is a gradual clearing operation to flush out Abu Sayyaf fighters and former MNLF militants loyal to Misuari. The air strikes will continue until we get Misuari. We will not allow any more attacks by Misuari's militant group," said Cimatu.

Some 300 MNLF members loyal to Misuari are holed out inside the Cabantangan complex in San Roque village, guarding Misuari's ARMM office. This prevented villagers from returning to their homes since Monday.

Cimatu ordered the MNLF forces to vacate the government buildings they had occupied since then. Military and police operatives in Zamboanga City intensified the monitoring of checkpoints in different parts of the city, following the spread of cell phone messages reporting that armed men were seen in Sinunuc and Taluksangay villages .

Adds Noralyn Mustafa from Jolo: "Misuari is not far away from the area," said Dr Abdurahman Amin. Misuari and Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahirun have hidden in the forested Mt Tumatangis, in Jolo's hinterlands, said the interior and local governments secretary, adding Misuari's recent wireless telephone call was located in that area.

Sahirun lost an arm as a former MNLF fighter. His subordinates include Abu Sayyaf leader Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot, and pony-tailed Mujib Susukan, both of whom led the abduction of 40 mostly foreign hostages in Sipadan Island, Malaysia and in Jolo from April to August last year. Andang was a former MNLF fighter who joined the Abu Sayyaf Group when the Armed Forces rejected his integration after the signing of the MNLF-government peace settlement in 1996.

"The government should thoroughly investigate reports that Misuari colluded and forged an alliance with a terrorist group," said Senator Blas Ople. Meanwhile, Police Chief Dio-medio Villanueva said Misuari had fled to Sabah, although Malaysian authorities condemned his recent raid in Jolo.

MNLF insiders, too, have conflicting reports on Misuari's whereabouts. Misuari's spokesman Habib Jamasali Abdurahman insisted: "There is no reason for him to flee. The Philippine military is wasting intelligence in giving out false information."

Other sources said Misuari gave his final instructions to his ground commanders in a meeting at the present MNLF stronghold in Camp Biyahan, Silangkan-Parang, Sulu, some days before the attack.

Another source said Misuari by now is in Islamabad, Pakistan, adding that two of his wives and children have gone to two Gulf countries. Ople urged Arroyo to send diplomatic missions to members of the OIC, for Misuari's surrender or capture.

"If the reports are true, higher authorities would surely resort to government-to-government dealings to get Misuari," said a regional military spokesman Col Danilo Servando.

Misuari is not dead and was not injured in the military attack after his raid. "He is more than alive and kicking," said Misuari's followers in Zamboanga who requested for anonymity. "As far as we know, he's hiding in a safe place," Misuari's chief of staff Julhambrie Misuari, told Gulf News.

Members of the MNLF Com-mittee of 15 are spreading Misuari's reported wounding, said the same source. Cimatu earlier claimed that Misuari was hurt during the military's aerial and ground attacks on positions held by Misuari's men in Sulu.