ZAMBOANGA CITY, 6 January 2006 — Military and rebel forces scrambled to protect hundreds of civilians who were trapped in a fierce gunbattle between two feuding Muslim clans in the southern Philippines, officials said yesterday.

Military officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties in the clash between the Tambugao and Masigay clans in the town of Tubaran in Lanao del Sur province. “We are trying to control the situation here. We have sent troops protect the civilians,” Marine Brig. Gen. Mohammad bin Dolorfino, deputy chief the Southern Command, told Arab News.

Dolorfino said the fighting broke out in the village of Vurivid and that soldiers were sent to the area to arrest the protagonists.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also sent its fighters in the town to defuse the tense situation and save the villagers, said the Front’s spokesman, Eid Kabalu.

“Our forces are in the area and protecting those trapped in places where the fighting erupted. We are closely coordinating with the authorities to prevent any misencounter between rebels and soldiers,” he said.

Kabalu said the MILF fighters sent to the town were all unarmed.

The military said the fighting erupted late Wednesday and continued the next day. Hundreds of gunmen attacked each other with machineguns and heavy weapons and television reports said at least 7 protagonists had been killed in the clashes.

“We have not yet received reports of casualties and we are awaiting reports from our commanders in the area,” said Lt. Col. Luisito Marcelino, deputy commander of the 1st Marine Brigade in the province.

He said the fighting was triggered by a clash between armed followers of the two clans in December in the province where several people were killed and wounded.

Kabalu said the fighting was connected to the killing in October last year of a police official in Malabang town and five of his companions.

“The fighting is connected to the killing of the police chief Corias Tambugao. His relatives attacked the members of the Masigay clan on suspicion they were behind the killing of the police chief,” he said.

Tambugao’s group was returning to Malabang from Tubaran town onboard a car when 20 gunmen opened fire and killing them all.

Police initially tagged bandits as behind the attack. Lanao del Sur is one of five province under the Muslim autonomous region.