JOLO, 15 February 2005 — Troops have mounted a full-scale offensive against hundreds of rebels hiding in the mountainous southern Philippines, choking off supplies of food and ammunition to force their surrender, an army commander said yesterday.

Weeklong clashes between the rebels and soldiers on Jolo island have left more than 60 people dead.

Five army and Marine battalions supported by elite scout rangers have been deployed to crush the rebels, whose strength fluctuates between 100 to 300, said Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, who heads troops involved in the assault.

Dema-ala said the rebel group was running out of food and ammunition.

“We are blocking all places through which they can send supplies,” he said, adding: “We are closing in on their main camp. There has been sporadic fighting and there are pockets of resistance but not very strong.”

The rebel camp consists of buildings, a parade area, trenches, bunkers and foxholes, Dema-ala said.

On Monday morning, a C-130 cargo plane flew in to Jolo with about 250 troops from another province to relieve soldiers who been fighting for more than a week. Another cargo plane brought in barrels of fuel and boxes of medicine.

A report on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) website (www.luwaran.com) meanwhile said that some 3,000 to 3,500 fighters of the rival Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have arrived in Jolo, where over 70 combatants have been killed since fighting broke last week.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said they have received reports that MNLF members “capable of creating trouble” have been conducting meetings in central Mindanao.

“There is a possibility that the clashes in Sulu would spill over to Central Mindanao. There are still members of MNLF still loyal to Misuari,” Kabalu told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo by phone.

In an updated travel advisory, New Zealand warned its citizens against travel to the southern Philippines, saying “there is some risk of terrorism and kidnapping.”

Last week, Britain also advised its citizens against traveling to the region because of the fierce fighting.

An Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Solaiman, told DZBB radio Saturday that Abu Sayyaf fighters and Misuari loyalists joined forces after troops recently killed a couple and their son in Jolo. He said the dead were related to both groups.

The military says the woman and her husband fired on troops, who fired back and killed both, while the child died in the crossfire.

The provincial governor, Benjamin Loong, said 2,600 families have fled their homes because of the clashes, and said military officials told him the fighting may last another week or two.

— With a report from Al Jacinto