Troops battle rebels in Philippine south, 6 dead

MANILA, Aug 12 (Reuters) Six people were killed when security forces exchanged mortar fire with separatist guerrillas on the southern island of Mindanao, army officials and a rebel spokesman said today.

Nestor Taasan, mayor of Tulunan town in the central part of Mindanao, said dozens of soldiers, backed by paramilitary forces, repulsed an attack by 100 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) at dawn on Thursday.

''The soldiers were warned about armed men massing outside the town by some villagers who were about to harvest their rice,'' said Taasan, adding hundreds of people fled during the four-hour battle.

Colonel Ruperto Pabustan, brigade commander in the Cotabato area, rushed reinforcements to the village.

''We're investigating to determine who started the fighting,'' Pabustan told reporters, adding the military might file a protest before the rebels' ceasefire panel.

Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, said the MILF forces had been ordered to stand down to allow the people to return to their homes and harvest their produce.

''We're cooperating with the government's investigation,'' said Kabalu, adding the MILF does not tolerate erring field commanders after two guerrilla leaders were sanctioned last year for attacks on army detachments near the vast wetlands in nearby Maguindanao.

The MILF, with the help of Malaysia, has been negotiating with Manila since 1997 to halt a conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people and held back development of the south, which is rich in oil, minerals and agricultural goods.

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

Ebrahim ''al haj'' Murad, the rebels' chief, told Reuters on Tuesday the MILF was awaiting a new proposal from Manila to widen the area designated as Muslim ancestral lands. The two peace panels meet next month in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Reuters BDP GC1150