The Philippine military launched air strikes against Muslim insurgents as President Benigno Aquino sought to bring an end to a standoff that has killed 87 people and complicated efforts to bring peace to the south.
About an hour before helicopters fired three rockets on rebel positions in the city of Zamboanga, military spokesman Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan said, “We are gaining ground as far as our calibrated response is concerned.”
Seventy-one Moro National Liberation Front fighters have died in the fighting, and 64 have surrendered or been captured, according to military spokesman Major Angelo Guzman. More than 67,000 people have fled their homes with militants still holding 94 hostages, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on its website.
Nine policemen and soldiers and seven villagers have been killed in fighting that started Sept. 9 when troops blocked insurgents from hoisting their flag at Zamboanga’s city hall. Aquino warned last week he would use the “full force of the state” if needed to protect civilians. He remains in the city.
The militants torched hundreds of homes and a team of prosecutors is preparing charges against some of them, said Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. Twenty houses were destroyed and five partially damaged, the disaster monitoring agency said. |