Nine killed in RP gunbattle

Nine killed in RP gunbattle

COTABATO, Philippines (Reuter): Nine people have died during a gunbattle between Moro rebels and government soldiers in two southern Philippine villages, the army said yesterday.

More than 50 families have fled the villages of Tupig and Tunganon in Aleosan town in North Cotabato, 900 kilometers south of Manila, because of the fighting, local officials said.

Army division commander Brig. Gen. Raul Urgello told reporters an army captain, three scout rangers and five rebels belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) died during the fighting last Saturday.

He blamed the fighting, which was continuing, on the MILF, who had moved into neighboring hamlets around Carmen. MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar said it was the scout rangers who had ventured into its controlled area.