At least 44 people have been killed in fighting between the military and Muslim separatist guerrillas on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, an army spokesman said Monday.
Lieutenant Colonel Jose Mabanta said eight soldiers and 36 members of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were killed in fighting in Maguindanao province from September 27 to 28.
Helicopter gunships and attack planes were used to bombard the MILF positions, leading to heavy rebel casualties although the bodies of only four rebels were actually recovered, Mabanta said.
The other rebel deaths were confirmed by local officials on the ground, Mabanta said, although it is customary for Muslim guerrillas to recover their dead and bury them before sundown.
He said the fighting was triggered when the army discovered the rebels had set up ambush positions against government troops near their camps.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu claimed more than 15 soldiers were killed in the two days of fighting. He refused to say how many casualties were suffered by the rebels.
The fresh violence could prove a stumbling block to peace talks between Manila and the MILF, which are slated to resume in Kuala Lumpur later this month.
"We want this problem to be settled immediately so as not to affect the resumption of the negotiations," Mabanta said.
The 12,500-strong MILF have been fighting to set up an Islamic state in the southern third of the Philippines which is home to the country's Muslim minority -- MANILA (AFP)
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