Koreans leave embattled site

Koreans leave embattled site

MANILA (Reuter): Seven Korean engineers trapped for nine days at an irrigation project in the southern Philippines finally got out of the area yesterday when soldiers and Moslem rebels agreed to quit the embattled site, diplomats said.

About 1,000 guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) seized control of the project, financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), on Aug. 27 after a clash with army units sent to guard the site.

The South Koreans had been reluctant to leave for fear of being caught in the crossfire between the rebels and hundreds of soldiers who had laid siege to the project site in Carmen town, North Cotabato province, 910 kilometers south of Manila.

The Korean engineers had said they had no problems with the MILF until the military showed up last week and set up a detachment around the irrigation site. The Koreans finally withdrew after the opposing forces agreed to make a mutual retreat, the construction attache at the South Korean embassy, Kim Hyung-soo, said by telephone.