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ILIGAN, Philippines - Muslim separatist rebels raided two southern Philippine towns on Monday, burning houses and taking over local banks and businesses, officials said, prompting some residents to flee.
Over 200 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels entered the predominantly Christian town of Kolambugan in southern Lanao del Norte province before dawn, engaging troops and local police in intense gunbattles, said town mayor Beltran Lumagi.
"They are now in the poblacion area (town centre), they have taken over the business centre, the rural banks, pawnshops," Lumagi said on Manila radio station DZBB.
He said police and army forces were trying to hold the rebels at bay and fighting had been intense.
He said many residents had evacuated, and he was trying to confirm unverified reports some may have been held hostage.
He said he could see houses still burning.
"We need reinforcements," he said.
MILF rebels also entered two villages in the nearby town of Kauswagan, triggering heavy gunbattles with troops, said police officer Misteryoso Arangco.
The attacks came a day after MILF rebels ambushed a military convoy, killing four soldiers and three pro-government militiamen in Lanao del Sur province.
Eight soldiers and three other militiamen were wounded in the attack.
The MILF has been waging a separatist rebellion since 1978, but it signed a ceasefire agreement with Manila in 2003, paving the way for peace talks.
The Supreme Court two weeks ago however aborted a deal between the government and the MILF that would have given the rebels control over vast areas of lands in the south.
The MILF shortly after that attacked government positions and took over more than 20 villages in another southern province, triggering heavy gunbattles.
They were eventually chased out, but the retreating rebels looted and burned many houses. - AFP/vm
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