13 dead as rebels clash in Philippines

MANILA: Thirteen people have been killed and thousands displaced in fighting over land between rival separatist groups in the southern Philippines, the military said Thursday.

Skirmishes led by commanders of the rival factions on Mindanao island have been going on for weeks, with the latest clash occurring on Wednesday, said regional military spokesman Major Marlowe Patria.

"There was some posturing at first but the firefights began on January 9. Then it would stop, then start up again, on and off," Patria told AFP.

He said 13 people from both sides had been killed and nine others wounded, while 800 families had fled the area due to the fighting and were being sheltered by the local government.

The feud is between a commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the country's original separatist group, and a commander from the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), he said.

MILF spokesman Mohager Iqbal said the two commanders were fighting over 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of land, and that leaders of both factions were trying to intercede to stop the violence.

"It is not the MNLF and MILF that are at war. It is just some members of the MILF and some members of the MNLF," Iqbal told AFP.