More than 10,000 people fled their homes as "lawless elements" among Muslim rebels occupied schools in the southern Philippines, sparking a fierce military backlash, officials said Tuesday.
Provincial disaster chief Adriano Fuego said thousands of residents of the remote towns of Payao, Alicia and Talusan on Mindanao island fled as around 100 gunmen occupied several schools at the weekend.
"There was advance news, like text messages on the cellphones they (gunmen) would attack the municipalities. There were text messages going around saying other municipalities would be attacked," Fuego told AFP.
Residents took refuge with their relatives elsewhere in the area and in churches, relief officials said.
Relief officials said there were enough food supplies but Angelo Pascual, operations official of the Philippine National Red Cross, said the remoteness of the area made the situation more difficult.
"So far, we have not been able to reach the area. It has been declared off-limits and the military has yet to issue the go signal," Pascual added.
Rommel Jalosjos, governor of Zamboanga Sibugay province, said soldiers and police had surrounded the suspects at a marshy coastal area which includes the towns.
"The terrain is very harsh. Around that coastal area, there are about 500 metres (yards) of low-lying mangroves before you hit the beach. It's really hard to get at," he told ABS-CBN television.
The government said it launched an operation last week to arrest 11 "lawless elements" but Muslim rebels the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, with whom the Philippines has a ceasefire deal, alleged their forces had also been attacked.
The military blamed the smaller group for ambushes that killed four soldiers and four policemen in the same area last week.
Philippine forces said they launched air strikes and an artillery barrage before sending in ground troops on Monday, leaving two soldiers and six gunmen dead.
In a separate incident last week, 19 special forces commandos were gunned down by MILF fighters after they strayed into rebel territory on the adjacent island of Basilan.
The violence has cast a shadow over the government's extended peace negotiations with the MILF, which began in 2003 and includes a ceasefire.
The Muslim rebels had initially said that the armed band occupying the three towns were members of the MILF.
However MILF spokesman Von al-Haq said on Tuesday that the alleged leader of the gunmen, Waning Abdusalam, had only briefly been a member of the MILF.
"For more than 10 years he has not reported to the MILF. He is not considered a member of the armed wing of the MILF. He has already been dropped. He is not covered by the ceasefire," al-Haq said.
Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF vice chairman, denied that his group sheltered lawless elements.
"We have ordered our fighters on the ground to stand down and respect the peace process," Jaafar said.
In a statement, the MILF also reaffirmed its commitment to the peace process.
"The ongoing peace talks between the government and the MILF... is the most civilised and democratic and best solution to resolve this political conflict," it said.
Despite calls for "an all-out war" against the rebels, President Benigno Aquino said on Monday that the peace process with the MILF would continue.
