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PHILIPPINES
New terror victimsRebels rampage through villages
At least 18 people were killed, including two children, when extremist Muslim rebels attacked three villages in the southern Philippines during the last weekend in May.
On Saturday, May 27 a group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, the largest separatist rebel group, killed eight villagers, including two children, in the Lanao del Sur province, after the civilians refused to cooperate in the ambush of military patrols. “The victims, all neighbors, were lined up together and shot dead by the rebels,” said Col. Ernesto de Guzman, chief of staff of the military’s Southern Command. Later that day, MILF rebels attacked a village in the Zamboanga del Sur province, burning homes, attacking a military outpost, and killing at least four civilians. On May 28 MILF rebels killed six civilians in another town before fleeing with bags of rice and valuables.
The attacks come as the government and MILF leaders were preparing to resume peace talks. Earlier in May, rebels had set off bombs in several cities, including the capital, Manila; the bombs killed one person and injured dozens of others in malls and movie theaters.
Several Muslim rebel groups are fighting to establish a separate Muslim homeland in the south of the Philippines —a country in which Catholics form the majority. Officials suspect the groups are being trained and equipped by groups connected to Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden.