Philippine Muslim rebels help free abducted worker

MANILA, July 11 (Reuters) The largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines, trying to rebuild confidence after clashes with paramilitary forces, helped free a kidnapped social worker on Mindanao island, rebel and army officials today said.

A week of fighting which began in late June killed dozens of people, displaced nearly 20,000 and destroyed houses, crops and farm animals, threatening a three-year truce and the entire peace process in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country.

''Due to pressure exerted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the kidnappers were forced to abandon their victim to a local village official and fled,'' said Eid Kabalu, a spokesman for the rebel group.

''We have an agreement with the government to help the police in its anti-crime campaign. We're just doing our part and sticking to the peace process.'' Brigadier-General Ben Dolorfino, deputy commander of military forces in the south, said he had learned of the abduction of a government social worker yesterday while inspecting projects in Lanao del Norte province.

Dolorfino said a local MILF commander had offered to help recover the victim because his armed followers knew the area where he had been taken by suspected bandits.

''He's now safe and back to his family,'' Dolorfino told reporters.

The MILF has helped to resolve more than a dozen kidnapping cases in the south since 2003.

The rebels have been negotiating with Manila since 1997 to end a nearly 40-year conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people and stunted development of Mindanao, which is rich in oil, minerals, timber and agricultural goods.

But talks stalled in May over the size and wealth of a proposed homeland for 3 million Muslims in the south.

Fighting erupted in late June between some rebels and paramilitary forces when there was an attempt to arrest MILF members in connection with a bomb attack aimed at a provincial governor on June 23 that killed seven other people.

The paramilitary forces are civilians trained and armed by the military to help defend their communities, but analysts say local politicians use them as private armies.

REUTERS SB KP1036