130,000 filipinos displaced as fighting escalates

The figure of Filipinos displaced from their homes since fight began late last week betwixt government military unit and Islamic separatists in the southern Philippines reached 130,000 on mon, officials said. The armed forces and the police force sent more troops to fight the rebels.

Social social welfare officials warned of a potentiality humanitarian catastrophe as the fight between troops and component of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which had been confined to two provinces, threatened to spill over to other areas. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a separationist group that has been fight for an Islamic state in the southern region of Mindanao for several decennary.

Local media reported that one thousand of occupant, the bulk of them Moslem, had been fleeing their homes since Fri, many in carts pulled by water buffaloes.

Thousands of refugees had been housed in more than 40 refugee centers, functionary said, but most of them had chosen to leave their communities and seek shelter with relation in other provinces.

As of mon, officials said two soldiers and at least 15 rebels had been killed in the fight, which erupted on Th after separationist forces refused to vacate nine small town in North Cotabato state.

Two days before, the filipino Supreme Court ruled in favor of a request that prevented the authorities and the rebel group from sign language an understanding that both sides had idea could help end the decades-old separatist war.

The request was filed by functionary of North Cotabato, who feared that the understanding would allow the rebel group to encroach into Christian territories, a complaint that the group and the authorities denied.

The court is set to make a final determination later this month on whether to allow the understanding to be signed.

Eid Kabalu, a spokesman for the rebels, blamed government-backed civilian militias for the conflict. He said the front had wanted to "reposition its forces" but was attacked by militias opposed to the peace agreement.

The administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been severely criticized for the way it handled the negotiations that led to the peace agreement. Many officials, including allies of the president as well as Filipino Muslims, have complained that they were not consulted and that details of the agreement were deliberately withheld from the public.

"The renewed fighting in North Cotabato goes to show that when the government bungles the peace negotiation, it is the citizens who suffer," Risa Hontiveros, a congresswoman, said Monday. "The peace process is turning into a humanitarian mess."

The renewed fighting coincided with elections on Monday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which comprises seven predominantly Muslim provinces. Past elections have been violent but officials said the latest voting was largely peaceful, although there were reports of sporadic violence, including the bombing of electric towers in one province.

People escaping the violence fled along a major national highway that had been ordered closed to traffic on Sunday after separatists had commandeered a passenger bus.

"We are tired, but we have to move on," Farida Dimalangan, a 47-year-old refugee, told MindaNews, a news agency in Mindanao.

Hundreds of refugees sought shelter in sheds and warehouses along the highway. More Articles in World »