No combat for US troops in Sulu

American soldiers who are in the Philippines for the RP-US "Balikatan" military exercises in Sulu will not join any combat operations, the spokesman of the US Embassy said yesterday.

"American troops don’t participate in any Armed Forces of the Philippines combat operations," US Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said. "The goal is to help AFP develop sustained anti-terrorism capability and better inter-operability with US forces."

More than 5,000 American soldiers will hold joint counterterrorism exercises in areas where al-Qaeda-linked militants operate.

The bulk of the Americans will join thousands of Filipino soldiers in their largest annual war maneuvers on Jolo island in Sulu that start on Feb. 20 and will last two weeks.

An earlier plan to fly in US troops to Jolo, where al-Qaeda-allied Abu Sayyaf rebels and bandit groups are active, fell apart because of concerns that the Americans may join local combat in violation of the Philippine Constitution.

Security for the Americans and opposition to the war drills by Muslim villagers have been nagging concerns on Jolo, labeled as a "no-man’s land" due to a surfeit of unlicensed guns, frequent bloodshed and a bitter history with American forces.

Muslim activists still cite violent US campaigns to quell restive native insurrectionists resisting American rule in the early 1900s.

The military has been struggling to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf — at times with covert US non-combat assistance — on Jolo. But a few hundred mountain-based guerrillas have endured numerous offensives and continue to threaten the impoverished island and nearby regions.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for high-profile kidnappings and deadly bomb attacks.

A US commander, Col. James Linder, said the Americans will be armed and will have adequate security.

"There is a threat there and its dangerous," he said.

In an apparent bid to win the hearts of Jolo villagers, he said the exercises would focus on humanitarian projects, including medical missions, construction of schools and excavation of wells and assured no live-fire exercises would be held.

A smaller US contingent will hold monthlong military exercises with Philippine troops in Carmen town, in North Cotabato province, starting Jan. 15, Lussenhop said.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a large separatist group which has been linked to the regional Muslim militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, has a presence in the sprawling region.

The rebel front has denied links with foreign terror groups and is engaged in peace talks with the government. Military officials continue to accuse some group members of harboring Indonesian militants and providing a training ground for them. — AP