Muslim separatist rebels on Tuesday accused the Philippine army of killing 19 civilians, including children, in an operation to flush out members of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang on Basilan island.
The military confirmed there was a firefight in the area, but denied that troops had killed unarmed civilians.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) alleged that soldiers opened fire Monday on civilians fleeing the village of Baliwas near Sumisip town, where the Abu Sayyaf were believed to have hid with their 18 Filipino and US hostages.
The soldiers had earlier clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in the area, forcing villagers to abandon their homes.
"There was a prior encounter in the area, they (soldiers) came back (and) indiscriminately killed 14 children, five adults and took away six others," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told reporters.
"Apparently, they got angry and could have been carried away by their emotions," he said.
An incident report sent to the armed forces headquarters confirmed there was a clash in the area, but said the only casualties were two Abu Sayyaf rebels who were shot dead.
Colonel Hermogenes Esperon, the military commander on the southern island of Basilan, dismissed the MILF claim as "wild allegations".
But Kabalu said the MILF would file a formal protest with the government peace panel, and called for an immediate investigation into the alleged killings.
The 12,500-strong MILF, the country's largest remaining Muslim insurgent group, is engaged in peace talks with Manila and has signed a ceasefire in a bid to find a political solution to its 23-year rebellion.
The MILF operates in parts of Basilan, but has denied military accusations that it provides the smaller Abu Sayyaf group with sanctuary in its bases.
The Abu Sayyaf are on the run from a massive military assault in Basilan to rescue 16 Filipinos and an American couple they had been holding for the past three months -- ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP)
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