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TALAYAN, Philippines: Philippine troops Friday seized a Muslim rebel training camp and exchanged fire with supporters of two guerrilla leaders blamed for deadly attacks on Christian villages, officials said.
Military and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) snipers traded fire over marshland near Talayan town on the southern island of Mindanao where one of the wanted rebel leaders, Umbra Kato, is believed to be hiding, an AFP reporter on the scene said.
Meanwhile, troops overran Camp Darapanan, a training centre used by the forces of MILF leader Abdurahman Macapaar, also known as Commander Bravo, on the outskirts of Poona Piagapo town, military officials said.
Kato and Macapaar led hundreds of their men in occupying Christian villages earlier this month, killing dozens of civilians and looting and burning houses.
"Our forces are moving and closing in on the forces of Umbra Kato," said Colonel Marlou Salazar, commander of an army brigade operating in the Talayan marshes.
Kato had about 1,000 men but they had split up into groups of 50 to 100, said the colonel. "Most of their people are hiding among houses and communities," he added.
"We are going slowly to avoid civilian casualties," Salazar said.
A local army commander, Brigadier General Antonio Supnet said they had overrun Camp Darapanan after an artillery barrage and the use of ground attack aircraft.
He described the facility "a big training camp that can accommodate at least 500 soldiers. It even has obstacle courses."
He could not give any estimates on casualties.
On Thursday, the military announced troops had captured Camp Bilal, a sprawling complex which included a house of Commander Bravo but all of the rebels had fled.
A military intelligence source said it was suspected that the rebel leader had already slipped out of the area to hide at a relative's house elsewhere on Mindanao.
The rebels launched the attack on Christian villages after the Philippine Supreme Court on August 4 suspended a draft agreement intended to open the way for a formal peace accord between the government and the MILF.
The fighting has led to a humanitarian disaster with about a quarter million people left homeless, the government said.
- AFP/yb
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