TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The fierce fighting between government forces and separatist rebels in Zamboanga, southern Philippines, has entered its 10th day. Philippine military officials on Wednesday said that government forces has controlled 70 percent of the areas that had been occupied by the fighters of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), an armed group who seek an Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
There have been more than a hundred of hostages rescued by the Philippine army on Tuesday, as the rebels engaged in deadly urban battles with the troops. Hundreds of other civilians remain trapped, with some being used as hostages or human shields.
The standoff began last week, when hundreds of MNLF fighters invaded Zamboanga in an attempt to derail peace talks. The military on Wednesday stated that it had engaged and killed more than a hundred rebels when retaking Santa Barbara and Santa Catalina in Zamboanga. Currently, there are still heavy fightings going on in Talon and Mampang, in the east of the city, which the number of the rebels remained unknown.
AL JAZEERA | CHOIRUL
