Moros set houses on fire as fighting rages in south

Manila: Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gunmen set several houses on fire as they continued to hold their ground during clashes at a remote village in North Cotabato yesterday afternoon, a military official said.

"Columns of smoke could be seen rising some eight kilometres from the North Cotabato highway in Midsayap," Lt Col Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, said, adding that the MILF had torched some 30 houses.

Ando said the gunmen had ignored an earlier ultimatum issued by the government to MILF commander Ombra Kato to withdraw his forces from the town of Libungan.

Gunbattles

The MILF's commander's resistance triggered gunbattles at the borders of Midsayap, Pikit and Aleosan towns.

"The rebels did not withdraw but instead repositioned themselves to remote villages in the area," According to Ando.

General Jorge Segovia, acting chief of the Armed Forces command centre, said with the MILF 105th base command's refusal to pull out from areas in North Cotabato, "the group has degenerated into a plain bandit group and considered as lost command".

Segovia had ordered the conduct of clearing operations yesterday afternoon after several MILF commanders refused to withdraw from the areas they had occupied since last week.

The air force had launched strikes against renegade positions as the army bombarded pockets of resistance with mortar fire.

- With inputs from Gilbert Felongco, correspondent