Violence in southern Philippines forces 5,000 villagers to flee

At least 5,000 villagers have fled their homes in nearly a week of sporadic clashes between Muslim guerrillas and pro-government militiamen in the southern Philippines, rebels and officials said today.

Col. Felipe Tabas, the military chief in the area, said clashes continued between Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels and civilian volunteers armed by the local government in two villages of Maguindanao province’s Mamapasano town, but that no new casualties have been reported.