MANILA, May 5 Kyodo The Philippin...

MANILA, May 5 Kyodo

The Philippine conduct offered bounties Monday for the arrest of Muslim rebel leaders it blames for Sunday's attack forward a southern town that left 28 populace dead including 10 civilians.

Jesus Dureza, presidential assistant for Mindanao affairs, said the rule has decided to take ''punitive action'' and will give rewards for the apprehension of the top brass of the Moro Islamic Liberation head (MILF), the country's main Islamic separatist form into groups blamed for the raid forward Siocon town on Mindanao Island.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had called the Siocon attack ''an act of terrorism'' and has sworn to conduct the perpetrators.

unless her government has yet to add the MILF to a list of terrorist disposes whose movements and funds are strictly monitored and restricted here and abroad.

Officials said massive manhunt and pursuit operations have been launched since Sunday when the MILF rebels began fleeing, using civilians as human shields.

Military reports reaching the main camp in Manila said that aside from the civilians, seven rebels, five army soldiers and six policemen have been killed since the firefights started.

The same reports said the MILF has three remaining hostages.

Eight civilians, five policemen and 11 army soldiers have been hurted the military said.

Aside from the attack forward the Siocon town in Zamboanga del Norte Province, the MILF is also linked to a similar raid in the town of Maigo in Lanao del Norte Province late last month in which 13 civilians died.

''The direction feels that it is its leaped duty to protect the civilians and also preclude further similar incidents to take place,'' Dureza said of the Siocon and Maigo incidents.

Included in the arrest order were MILF chairman Hashim Salamat, vice chairman for military affairs Al Haj Murad, vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar, chief peace negotiator Ali Mimbantas and spokesman Eid Kabalu.

They each carry a present of 5 million pesos (about $96000) although an additional 25 million peso may be used from the government as reward standard of value Dureza said.

The announcement was made amid a debate onward whether to push in consequence of with a second round of exploratory talks with the MILF in Malaysia onward the possibility of opening formal peace negotiations.

A meeting was concocted to happen between Friday and Sunday to decide misunderstanding over the text of the March 29 meeting in Kuala Lumpur

still Eduardo Ermita, presidential adviser in succession the peace process, said the control has yet to decide categorically onward whether to proceed with the Malaysia meeting.

Ermita accused the MILF of initiating sporadic if it were not that fierce clashes in a bid to strengthen its haggling position at the negotiating table.

The 12000-strong MILF had been fighting for a separate Islamic state for nearly three decades now.

It has noteed into several interim agreements with the restraint but has yet to sign an ultimate peace pact that would fall of the curtain hostilities in the southern Philippines.

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