29/01/2014 16:56
Philippines military offensive 'kills 37 rebels'
At least 37 Philippine rebels have been killed in a two-day offensive in the south, the BBC reported, citing the military.
President Benigno Aquino said the offensive would protect villages from rebels in Maguindanao province.
The insurgents involved in fighting oppose a recent peace accord between the government and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Under the new deal, MILF rebels will hand over their weapons in exchange for self-rule in parts of the south.
But insurgents belonging to the breakaway rebel Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) say MILF compromised too much in the truce.
The group, which comprises a few hundred militants, say they will continue their uprising because the deal did not lead to a separate homeland for minority Muslims in the south.
BIFF rebels have carried out several deadly attacks in recent years in a bid to derail peace talks.
Speaking to reporters, President Aquino said troops were aiming "to seriously degrade their abilities to again act as spoilers.”
Local military spokesman Col Dickson Hermoso said 12 of the dead rebels have so far been identified, with more bodies discovered in graves near a village in Maguindanao.
One soldier was killed and four others wounded in a blast outside a mosque on Tuesday, he added.
But BIFF spokesman Abu Misri has denied any deaths, saying seven insurgents were wounded in army shelling and helicopter rocket fire.