Muslim rebel commander killed in clash in southern Philippines

Sep 24, 2007, 6:44 GMT

Cotabato City, Philippines - A Muslim separatist rebel commander was killed in a clash with policemen in the southern Philippines, police said Monday.

The fighting erupted Sunday when Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked a convoy of policemen in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, a regional police chief, identified the fatality as MILF commander Hadji Ali, who died on the spot. The town police chief was also wounded in the fighting.

It was not clear what triggered the fighting.

A separate clash also erupted between MILF rebels and soldiers accompanying international ceasefire monitors in a nearby village, a regional military spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando said there were no reported injuries in the fighting that occurred in the village of Kitango a few hours after the MILF rebels clashed with policemen.

'Luckily none of them (peace monitors) were hurt,' he said. 'It seems the MILF leadership cannot control their men.'

But Von Al Haq, an MILF official, said it was pro-government militiamen that attacked the MILF rebels in Kitango and the soldiers were caught in the crossfire.

The Malaysian-led international monitoring team was created to oversee the implementation of a ceasefire agreement forged between the MILF and the Philippine government in 2003.

The MILF has been fighting for a separate Islamic state in the southern region of Mindanao since 1978. It has, however, agreed to hold peace talks with the government.

The negotiations, however, have been stalled since September last year after the two sides failed to agree on the scope of a proposed Muslim homeland in Mindanao.