Monday, May 05, 2008
Muslim rebels withdraw from village, allow Christians to return (12:26 p.m.)
MANILA -- Muslim separatist rebels withdrew from a southern Philippine village and allowed about 1,000 Christian farmers to return after tensions flared over a land dispute, a military official said Monday.
The standoff in the coastal village of Sangay highlighted the fragile situation in the southern Philippines, where mediator Malaysia announced it was pulling out cease-fire monitors amid a lack of progress in settling a decades-long Muslim insurgency.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas entered the village in Sultan Kudarat province last Wednesday demanding food, confiscating rice and sending Christian residents fleeing, Mayor Rolando Garcia said.
Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said the occupation occurred because of competing claims to the land, but the action had not been approved by rebel leaders.
About 300 rebels withdrew over the weekend following talks with the provincial government, said Colonel Danilo Garcia, a regional military commander.
"It's all about a land conflict," he said, adding the rebels claimed that Christian settlers had no right to be there. (AP) |
