Muslim rebels seeking to declare an independent state put a dozen civilians tied together by rope on display as a human shield on Wednesday as a standoff with security forces in Zamboanga City entered its third day.
Waving white flags, the hostages shouted "please don't shoot" at soldiers as rebel snipers perched on roofs of a residential block fired at the troops about 500 meters away in Santa Barbara district.
In another part of the city, three wounded rebels were arrested after exchanging gunfire with police manning a roadblock to stop the fighters, from a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front loyal to founder Nur Misuari, from occupying other districts of the city.
Four decades of conflict in the south have killed 120,000 people, displaced two million and stunted growth in the poor but resource-rich area of the mainly Roman Catholic country.
Last year, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a framework agreement with the government, agreeing to a new autonomous region that gave it more political control.
That agreement, which spurred hopes of an economic revival, was opposed by the MNLF faction led by Misuari, which signed a peace deal with government in 1996 but has since complained that Manila has not fulfilled its side of the bargain.
"Our troops are only returning fire. We are not launching an offensive," military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala said. "Our mission is to contain them not to rescue hostages."
The standoff has paralyzed Zamboanga City, with schools, shops, offices closed for the third day. Flights and ferry services were also suspended.
Around 12,000 people have been displaced in five districts of city.
Zamboanga is the main commercial, educational and government center of the south. It is also a gateway for goods like sardines and a major oil depot.
Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar appealed to rebels to free the hostages and discuss their grievances with Manila, suggesting a third-party mediator intervene.
"This is no longer a local problem, this is an international problem," she said in a television interview.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/70511/photo--mnlf-show-roped-human-shields
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