Thousands flee feared clash in Basilan

MANILA (AFP) - Almost 6,000 people have fled their homes in the southern Philippines to avoid a feared clash between Muslim rebels and soldiers hunting for the killers of 14 Marines, officials said Wednesday.

The residents of five villages near the town of Al-Bakra on Basilan island have sought safe haven as the military took positions for a possible assault on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the civil defence office here said.
Thousands of troops are ready to go after the MILF following an ambush on Marines in Basilan on July 10 that left 14 marines dead.

Ten of them were beheaded.

The ambush came despite a three-year ceasefire that is in place while the government and the separatist Muslim rebels negotiate a peace agreement.

The MILF said they attacked the Marines because they had strayed into their territory, but they have denied beheading the soldiers.

Local television reports said the area was like a "ghost town" as residents fled.

The social welfare department and the local government in Al-Bakra have given residents food and other aid, the civil defence office said, adding it was unsure where the residents were being housed.

Many were believed to be staying with relatives, it said.