Joint war games with American troops in Jolo halted temporarily

Mindanao: The joint US-Philippine war games were temporarily halted on Jolo island in the southern Philippines, where six militants were killed and 13 others were wounded on Sunday following clashes between government troops and a local militant group, a military official said.

About 100 US units, composed of military dentists, doctors, engineers and nurses, are located just metres away from the scene of the clashes between Philippine soldiers and members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

"They must not be caught in the crossfire," said Brigadier General Ruperto Pabustan, the commander of elite Philippine army units on Jolo. The deployment of more Philippine troops to protect US soldiers who are engaged in medical and engineering missions on Jolo island was not enough, said Pabustan.

Not threatened

Earlier, Pabustan said the clashes between the government soldiers and the ASG have not threatened the safety of the American soldiers who are building schools and reparing roads.

"We have to go on, the project must not be affected [even if the clashes were near US soldiers who are engaged in engineering mission]," said Major John Redfield, spokesman of the US Joint Special Operations Task Force, while asking for more security for the American soldiers. The halting of the war-games could help Philippine government soldiers in pursuing the ASG members.

The deployment of government troops in the area where medical and engineering missions were previously held will also prevent the ASG members from escaping to other areas in Jolo, said Pabustan.

The US has been giving intelligence assistance to 7,000 government soldiers who are fighting the ASG in the jungles of Indanan, Jolo.

The medical and engineering missions are part of the annual joint US and Philippine war games in Indanan.

The two week-military exercises, called Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder), have included medical and engineering missions worth $300,000 (Dh1.1 million) to win the hearts and minds of Filipino Muslims who may have been supporting the ASG.

Clashes between government troops and the ASG yesterday continued in a village controlled by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a group that has signed a pro-autonomy peace settlement with the Philippine government in 1996.