40 Muslim Rebels Killed in Philippines

Jan. 30, 2014 6:54 a.m. ETRoughly 40 rebels have been killed in recent days as a fresh round of fighting between Philippine security forces and Muslim separatists erupted in several towns in the neighboring southern provinces of Maguindanao and North Cotabato, the military said Thursday.
Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told The Wall Street Journal that the police and military launched a joint offensive last Sunday on strongholds of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, or BIFF, to put a stop to the Muslim separatist group’s “terroristic attacks in the area.”
BIFF is a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, the largest Muslim rebel group with which the government has signed a peace deal to end the decades-long separatist conflict in the resource-rich southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The attack came a day after the government and the MILF signed in Malaysia the last of the four annexes to the peace agreement reached in 2012.
Lt. Col. Zagala said the BIFF has been trying to disrupt the peace process by attacking government forces. “These acts cannot be tolerated,” he said.
Muslim rebels have injured 13 and killed one of the government’s forces.
Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s Maguindanao-based 6th Infantry Division, said that security forces have captured several rebel strongholds, including a facility believed to be used in making improvised bombs. He said the military operation was supposed to end this Wednesday but was extended to Saturday.
He said more than 10,000 residents of several towns in the two provinces have fled their homes, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
“The operations are supported by the MILF,” Col. Hermoso said.
Col. Hermoso said among the more than three dozen rebels killed since the fighting started last Sunday are “child warriors as young as 15 years old.”
Write to Josephine Cuneta at josephine cuneta@wsj.com and Cris Larano at cris.larano@wsj.com

More: 40 Muslim Rebels Killed in Philippines