Philippine govt, rebels say clash won't affect peace talks

The Philippine government and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said Tuesday the deadly clash between the troops and rebels would not affect the peace talks.

"This is an isolated case," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement. "We assure that the skirmishes will not in any way affect the on-going peace negotiations."

The military said seven government soldiers and up to 50 rebels from the MILF were killed in heavy fighting in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao on Sunday and Monday.

"The renegades will be held to account for the treacherous attack," Bunye said. "We are expecting the MILF leadership to impose sanctions on those who instigated the attack."

The military earlier said a 60-man rebel band simultaneously attacked two Army detachments at two villages in Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak towns, respectively, which triggered the deadly clash.

Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak said on Monday he did not consider the fighting to be a breakdown of the cease-fire.

The cease-fire panels from both the government and the rebel sides had joined a team of Malaysian-led truce monitors in investigating the battle in the town of Mamasapano, Bunye said.

The military said it suspected the clash stemmed from a personal dispute between some soldiers and a relative of the localMILF commander.

Meanwhile, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the rebel group wouldcooperate with the government in the investigation and gave assurances to the military that they are not going to condone the wrongdoings of the MILF's armed wing, according to the military.

"We remain committed to the peace talks," Kabalu said. "The gun battle will not affect the formal negotiations. The attack was notauthorized by our leadership, but we would like to listen to our field commanders about why such an incident took place."

The peace talks between the government and the nearly 12,000-strong MILF, the largest Philippine rebel group, are expected to restart in Malaysia in February.

Source: Xinhua