Stumbled upon this during my readings today. Thought it might be of interest to some of you.
Suspected Muslim rebels stormed a coastal town in the Philippines and took about a dozen hostages after clashing with a navy patrol off the key southern city of Zamboanga, officials said.
Troops and police were deployed to surround the crowded neighbourhood of Rio Hondo, near the city centre. Regional police chief Juanito Bano said 20 Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) guerrillas were believed to be holding 10 to 15 people hostage there.
"We're now containing them," Bano told DZMM radio. "Hopefully, we can get these civilians and then engage the gunmen properly."
Officials said one navy soldier died and 10 navy and police personnel were wounded in the pre-dawn battle, and two rebels were killed.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest of the groups that want an autonomous region for Muslims in the south of the predominantly Catholic Philippines, has engaged the Philippine government in peace talks, which have progressed recently towards an autonomy deal.
Breakaway MNLF guerrillas led by its commander Nur Misuari have issued new secession threats from their remaining strongholds such as southern Jolo island, a few hours by boat from Zamboanga city.
The trouble began late on Sunday when policemen arrested five MNLF guerrillas who were wearing combat camouflage uniforms and carrying pistols in Rio Hondo, officials said.
Shortly after midnight, a navy patrol spotted a large boat and eight smaller vessels carrying dozens of armed guerrillas off Rio Hondo, sparking a gunbattle at sea, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala said.
The clash spilled into Rio Hondo, where the rebels fled, rousing hundreds of residents with the burst of gunfire and prompting them to flee. At least four policemen were wounded in scattered shootouts in Rio Hondo and outlying areas, police said.
Reinforcement troops and police were later deployed to help track down the guerrillas and secure strategic areas of Zamboanga, a predominantly Christian region about 540 miles south of Manila, where officials convened a committee to discuss how to deal with the unravelling security crisis.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the city government had appealed to the national government for help and President Benigno Aquino was receiving updates on the situation.
"We condemn the attack on Zamboanga City in the strongest possible terms," he said.
Commercial flights to and from the city were suspended.
The clashes shattered years of relative calm in Zamboanga city, which has been hit by bombings and high-profile hostage-takings by Muslim guerrillas in the past.
US counterterrorism forces who have been providing training to Filipino troops since 2002 are based in a Philippine military camp in a part of Zamboanga city that has so far been unaffected by the skirmishes.
Original Source The Guardian