Filipino troops attack to end rebel standoff

[September 14, 2013]  ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippine troops have started to battle their way into coastal villages in the south where Muslim rebels have held scores of residents hostage in a six-day standoff, sparking fierce clashes that have killed 56 people and sent more than 60,000 residents fleeing their homes, officials said Saturday.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said government forces surrounding about 200 fighters from a Moro National Liberation Front rebel faction have started to advance and slowly retake rebel-held areas and clear roads in villages in the coastal outskirts of Zamboanga, a major port city.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the offensive was "calibrated" to protect hostages still held by the rebels.

"It's not an all-out war," Zagala told The Associated Press by telephone from Zamboanga city.

Troops have not resorted to heavy artillery fire, rockets or launched airstrikes to protect the hostages and civilians, Roxas said.

President Benigno Aquino III said more firefights were expected but assured thousands of displaced villagers being sheltered at a sports complex in Zamboanga city that the rebels' capability to sow trouble has been degraded and the government was working to end the crisis soon.

The Moro insurgents, led by rebel leader Nur Misuari, signed a peace deal in 1996, but the guerrillas did not lay down their arms and later accused the government of reneging on a promise to develop long-neglected Muslim regions in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. The government says Misuari kept on stalling and making new demands.

The rebels have become increasingly restive in recent months as they were overshadowed by a rival rebel group, which have engaged Aquino's government in peace talks brokered by Malaysia. The talks have steadily progressed toward a new and potentially larger autonomy deal for minority Muslims in the south.

Misuari has not been seen in public since the standoff began.

Vice President Jejomar Binay said Misuari agreed to a truce late Friday by telephone, and he relayed the news to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, who has been helping deal with the crisis in Zamboanga city. Binay flew to Zamboanga Saturday to help deal with the crisis.

But Gazmin said the rebels have continued to fire in violation of the agreement.

"Everybody wants peace, to stop this without more bloodshed," Gazmin told DZBB radio network. "But as we speak, there's firing, so there's no cease-fire. We agreed that government forces will not fire only if the MNLF will not open fire."

[Associated Press; By BULLIT MARQUEZ]

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez contributed to this report from Manila.

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