25 slain in new RP fighting

25 slain in new RP fighting

PHILIPPINES: Thirteen people have died in new clashes between the
military and Moro separatists in the southern Philippines even as
Malaysia and Libya offered to mediate a solution to the 25-year
insurgency.

Five guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
were killed and a soldier wounded in a gunbattle on Tuesday in
Buldon on Mindanao island, regional military spokesman Maj.
Julieto Ando said.

A clash on Monday in nearby Pikit left four guerrillas dead
and two soldiers wounded, local military commander Col. Carduzo
Luna said. Two government militiamen and two civilians were also
killed in an MILF ambush on Monday in Sirawai, a military report
said.

Meanwhile, five communist guerrillas and seven soldiers,
including an officer, were slain in scattered clashes between
government forces and rebels in different parts of the
Philippines on Tuesday, military officials said. --AFP