Misuari's followers step up attacks on Philippine troops<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jolo, Philippines<\/p>\n
Police officers and gunmen loyal to jailed Moro leader Nur
\nMisuari killed three soldiers and a civilian in his southern
\nPhilippines island base on Wednesday, pushing the death toll in
\ntwo days of unrest to 36, officials said.<\/p>\n
President Gloria Arroyo denounced the violence which erupted
\non Tuesday, saying \"it was instigated by troublemakers.\" She did
\nnot elaborate.<\/p>\n
Jolo island's downtown was a virtual ghost town with shops and
\nschools shuttered, roads barricaded by tyres and rocks and
\nlampposts and walls plastered with posters of Misuari.<\/p>\n
The military and police commands ordered all units in Jolo
\nback to barracks to head off further bloodshed.<\/p>\n
Misuari, 60, fled Jolo after a bloody armed rebellion by his
\nfollowers in November that left more than 100 people dead. But
\nMalaysia detained him for illegal entry and deported him last
\nweek to stand trial for rebellion.<\/p>\n
The former separatist guerrilla leader is now detained at a
\npolice prison near Manila, and faces 20 years in jail if
\nconvicted of inciting the November rebellion.<\/p>\n
In the latest violence, a police unit made up of former
\nmembers of Misuari's Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
\nseparatist guerrilla group ambushed an army jeep at the Jolo
\npublic market mid-morning on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The military said three soldiers were killed in the attack,
\nwhile hospital staff said a civilian was also killed. One
\nsoldier, a policeman, and four civilian bystanders were wounded,
\nofficials said.<\/p>\n
The policemen later mutilated the soldiers' corpses, beheading
\none of them, local army commander Lt. Abdurasad Sirajan said.<\/p>\n
\"We were ambushed by uniformed policemen and civilians,\"
\nPrivate First Class Rizal Laygan told AFP as an ambulance rushed
\nhim to a military hospital for treatment of his wounds.<\/p>\n
One thousand army and 300 police \"integrees\" from the MNLF
\nbased in Jolo are being investigated to determine their
\nloyalties, said deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya.<\/p>\n
President Arroyo on Wednesday fended off mounting criticism
\nfor the planned deployment of U.S. Special Forces troops in the
\nsouthern Philippines for joint operations against allies of Osama
\nbin Laden.<\/p>\n
The opposition demanded public disclosure of all the terms of
\nthe six-month operation that began on Tuesday and would
\neventually involve nearly 700 U.S. soldiers.<\/p>\n
They warned that the exercise could be retracing steps that
\nled to the U.S. military debacle in the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n
\"These American soldiers won't be on the front line. They will
\nbe behind our own soldiers, observing their operations,\" Arroyo
\nsaid in a radio broadcast.<\/p>\n
The deployments are justified by the \"threat of international
\nterrorism\" posed by the Abu Sayyaf, a Moro guerrilla group active
\nin the southern islands of Basilan and Jolo.<\/p>\n
Both governments say the group has ties to Saudi-born bin
\nLaden, the main suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in Washington on
\nTuesday that hundreds of U.S. troops will take part in military
\nmaneuvers in the southern Philippines including the islands of
\nJolo and Basilan, where Moro guerrillas are holding an American
\ncouple hostage.<\/p>\n
Downtown Jolo, which has a long history of separatist violence
\nand was burned to the ground during a major battle between Moro
\nrebels and government troops in 1974, was eerily deserted on
\nWednesday morning. Some civilians barricaded roads leading into
\nthe town to try to obstruct access by soldiers from nearby areas.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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