MANILA, Aug 18: Hundreds of Muslim guerillas attacked two towns in the Philippines troubled south on Monday, killing 34 people, burning homes and looting banks before being driven out by the military.

The attack was the bloodiest since a territorial deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stalled earlier this month and comes just days after government troops halted an offensive against MILF rebels in another part of Mindanao.

Officials said dozens of civilians were used as human shields and some of them were shot dead by retreating rebels who were driven out by a military offensive on Monday.

“They used them as human shields. The rebels killed them on their way out. They were killed as if like chickens. That is the report given to us by the civilians,” said Brigadier General Hilario Atendido, adding that the MILF had suffered an undetermined number of casualties.

Vowing to defend Mindanao, a region rich in nickel, gold and copper, President Macapagal Gloria Arroyo had earlier ordered troops to flush out the guerillas from the towns.

“I condemn the dastardly attack and the violence sowed by the MILF early this morning in some towns of Lanao del Norte,” Arroyo said in a radio address.

“We will crush any attempt to disturb peace and development in Mindanao.”

The military said 26 civilians and eight soldiers were killed in the fighting in Kolambugan and Kauswagan towns in the province of Lanao del Norte.

“We have driven away the rebels. we are going after them,” Atendidio said, adding that the military remained “on alert” for any possible return of the MILF.

The mayor of Kolambugan town, Beltran Lumaque, told local radio around 5,000 residents had fled. He said the rebels burned houses and raided bakeries, pawnshops and banks.

On Sunday, around 100 rebel fighters, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns ambushed a military convoy, killing seven soldiers and wounding dozens also in Lanao del Norte.

The head of the armed forces said the attacks showed that renegade members of the MILF in that province had declared war on Manila.

“These developments are a clear manifestation of the insincerity to the peace process of a significant portion of the MILF,” General Alexander Yano told a news conference.

But the MILF distanced itself from the latest attacks in Lanao del Norte, whose commercial capital Iligan, less than 20 km from where the attacks were taking place, is an important centre for steel and hydropower.

“Our leadership has not sanctioned these attacks. This has to stop if we can confirm the involvement of our forces,” MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said.

Last week, the military bombed MILF positions for four straight days, triggering an exodus of around 160,000 people, amid accusations the rebels had occupied Catholic farmlands.

The situation on the ground has deteriorated rapidly since the Supreme Court earlier this month halted a territorial deal between the MILF and Manila that was meant to re-open formal peace talks to end a conflict that has killed over 120,000 people.Legal experts expect the court will rule that the agreement, which gives a future government of an expanded Muslim homeland wide political and economic powers, is unconstitutional.

A further bout of violence is expected following such a decision but an all-out war is not considered likely as neither side has the resources to deliver a knockout blow.

—Reuters