Some 22,000 civilians have fled villages around the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stronghold near Pikit town on Mindanao Island, military and relief officials said.

"We are going to assault that area," Defence Secretary Angelo Reyes told reporters in Manila.

He said the troops are "in hot pursuit of certain lawless elements, principally the kidnap for ransom groups and people responsible in the bombing last December 24" of the town of Sharif Aguak, he added.

The area commander, Army Colonel Carduzo Luna, said the five Army and Marine battalions, or around 2,500 soldiers, were in the marshy area where between 1,500 and 2,000 gunmen have been seen. Some 22,000 people have fled 11 surrounding villages and sought shelter in the town centre.

Reyes gave a lower estimate of about 1,000 gunmen, including MILF guerrillas.

"This place, where they are right now, is the refuge and safe haven of a lot of lawless elements and kidnap for ransom personalities such as Tahir Alonto," he said, referring to a suspected leader of the Pentagon gang of Muslim kidnappers.

"We are there to enforce the law. We are there to see to it that the communities are protected from these lawless elements."

Meanwhile, MILF gunmen ambushed a unit of army engineers near the southern town of Matanog yesterday, killing one soldier and wounding seven others, said unit commander Colonel Eduardo Lena.

The soldiers are building roads in the former MILF-held Camp Abubakar, overrun in a military offensive in 2000, Lena said.

Kabalu, the MILF spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to a local radio station.

(China Daily February 11, 2003)