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Fighting stalls Philippine peace talks

MANILA: Renewed fighting has caused the postponement of a second round of peace talks between the Philippine government and Muslim separatists, a guerrilla spokesman said on Sunday.

At least 24 people have died in week-long clashes in Maguindanao province between government forces and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) militants.

MILF information officer Mohagher Iqbal said the guerrillas sought the postponement of the talks scheduled for Monday because of military attacks on a strategic guerrilla base in Maguindanao province on Mindanao island, 800 km south of Manila.

"We wanted clarification of the official position of the government, whether they are willing to find a lasting solution to the problem through negotiations or whether they are now resorting to full military operations against us," Iqbal said by phone from the MILF headquarters in Maguindanao.

Both sides have accused each other instigating the fighting, breaking a tenuous ceasefire.

The military said at least 22 militants and two soldiers had died in the fighting which began on February 14 in mountainous areas near Camp Omar, the MILF's third biggest base in Mindanao.

Iqbal put the death toll at 30. He said they included 17 soldiers, 13 MILF men and two civilians.

"We don't hide our dead...But if you go to the military hospital in Awang you will find it full of their casualties," he said.

He said the military, using air strikes, artillery and ground troops, was able to penetrate portions of the MILF's camp perimeter at some point during the fighting but had not been able to advance.

"It's clear who is responsible for the violence because the fighting is taking place near our camp," Iqbal said.

More than 120,000 people have died in the 28-year separatist revolt.

The mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996 but the MILF, a breakaway faction, has continued to fight for an Islamic state in the south of the country.-Reuters