Cotabato (Philippines):Clashes left 30 rebels dead in the southern Philippines overnight, just hours after the government scrapped a controversial peace deal with the Muslim guerrillas, the military said today.

The rebels were slain in villages bordering the Liguasan marshes around Maguindanao, said local military spokesman Colonel Julieto Ando.

"All were killed in two days of simultaneous air and ground assaults," he said.

Major Armand Rico, an army official, said the number of soldiers wounded had risen to 12 as Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels fought the military offensive on their stronghold near Liguasan marsh.

"They are familiar with the terrain in the Liguasan marshland, they have expertise in moving there so the military had to use air assets," Ando said.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said it had agreed with the government to provide an additional 250 metric tons of rice to help feed some 60,000 people displaced by the fighting in Maguindanao.

Some 220,000 people have been displaced since the fighting began two weeks ago, according to the WFP.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said today that "fighting continued today with the military using air and ground assets, apparently to get Commander Kato."

Umbra Kato is a rebel MILF commander who launched a series of attacks on villages and towns two weeks ago that have killed scores and displaced thousands of people.
Source : PTI