MANILA, Philippines—In a major escalation of the fighting, Moro guerrillas Monday raided five towns, spraying gunfire, hacking civilians with machetes and torching houses before withdrawing using residents as human shields in the face of a government counteroffensive.

At least 41 people, including Army Lt. Col. Angel Benitez, two soldiers and a policeman, were killed in the worst flare-up of violence since a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was aborted two weeks ago, military and police officials said.

Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Philippine National Red Cross, said 24 soldiers were killed in Monday’s battles. He did not give details and his figure was not included in the reported death toll of 41.

There were no rebel casualties reported.

The MILF fighters slipped before dawn into Kauswagan, Kolambugan, Maigo and Bacolod in Lanao del Norte and Maasim in Sarangani unleashing brazen attacks on police stations and town centers that sent thousands of residents fleeing.

Benitez, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1990 and incoming executive officer of the 104th Army Brigade, was ambushed along with two of his men at 5 a.m. in Kolambugan.

He was the highest ranking officer killed in the current upsurge in violence that on Sunday claimed seven lives when an Army convoy was waylaid in Lanao del Sur.

‘Killed like chickens’

At least 30 civilians were reported killed in Kolambugan.

Brig. Gen. Hilario Atendido, chief of the 102nd Army Brigade in Iligan, said 23 of the civilians were used by retreating MILF fighters as human shields before they were later slaughtered in the outskirts of Kolambugan. “They were killed like chicken,” said Atendido.

The military also reported that 50 other hostages were freed, but that about 10 remained in rebel custody.

Matilde Eballe, who was among those taken hostage but was lucky enough to escape, said four of her companions were slain while attempting to escape. Eballe suffered gunshot wounds in her right leg. Eballe, four other civilians and two soldiers were brought to a hospital in Ozamiz City.

In another part of Kolambugan, in Barangay Kulasihan, the rebels shot at houses at around 4:30 a.m. PO1 Dexter Salvacion and a companion, Ricky Sulicar, were gunned down while riding a motorcycle. Also killed in Kulasihan were a cab passenger, Ricardo Gil, and an unidentified woman.

In Kauswagan, two passengers of buses that were either torched or fired at were killed. Seven farmers also were slaughtered apparently while attempting to flee. Some of the dead were left lying on the streets for hours.

Television footage Monday showed mayhem in one smoldering village as residents ran for their lives, jumping over the fence of their houses. Burned-out vehicles littered the streets.

The rebels fired shots in the towns of Maigo and Bacolod, but there were no reports of casualties.

A force of around 80 heavily armed MILF men slipped at 2 a.m. into Maasim, a coastal town of around 50,000 people in Sarangani in another part of Mindanao. They ransacked a pharmacy and a pawnshop, set several shops ablaze and strafed buildings, said Chief Supt. Felizardo Serapio. Two civilians were killed—pedicab driver Joelito Omas and James Varon.

Declaration of war

The attacks are a “virtual declaration of war” by the MILF, Gen. Alexander Yano, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told a news conference in Manila.

“It appears that several MILF sub-commanders are not controlled by the MILF leadership and just using the peace process as a blanket to launch violent attacks against the people of Mindanao,” he said.

“The AFP shall not allow this to go on,” Yano said. “We are taking military action to stop these atrocities perpetrated by the MILF.”

He said the developments were a “clear manifestation of the insincerity to the peace process of a significant portion of the MILF,” and vowed to restore law and order as quickly as possible.

Attacks not sanctioned

The MILF distanced itself from the latest attacks in Mindanao.

“Our leadership has not sanctioned these attacks. This has to stop if we can confirm the involvement of our forces,” MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said.

The latest attacks came a day after MILF rebels armed with 60-cal. machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other high-powered weapons ambushed a military convoy in Malundo, Lanao del Sur, killing four soldiers and three militiamen.

Eight other soldiers and three other militiamen were wounded in the attack.

Mayor Beltran Lumaque said in a radio interview that around 200 guerrillas swept through Kolambogan, a coastal town with a population of around 25,300, under cover of darkness Monday.

“They have taken over the business center, the rural banks, pawnshops,” Lumaque told a Manila radio station at midmorning, saying houses were on fire and many residents had fled heavy fighting in the town center. “We need reinforcements,” he said, as the shooting continued.

Priest trapped in convent

Provincial spokesperson Lyndon Calica said MILF rebels torched a police outpost and vehicles. Calica said the rebels started pulling out at noon, about nine hours after the attack, taking with them scores of hostages.

Father Regino Quijano, a cousin and her year-old baby and three students were trapped inside the Holy Cross Convent in Kolambugan for eight hours. Quijano said they heard gunfire and people shouting outside the convent and decided to stay.

“All of us are praying here in the room. We are all scared,” he said. “I hope something should be done to end this crisis, a lot of innocent people are becoming victims of this situation.”

It was only after the rebels left at around noon that Quijano and his companions went out of the convent.

Quijano said he later saw the bodies of three soldiers in the village of Pantar. Quijano also said there were six dead civilians. He identified them as Rolando Porcare, Rey Patalas, Nading Sosima, Florante Petsico, Jaime Daguan and Pedring Kabingwit.

“Everything is devastated here,” Quijano told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

Volatile situation

Brig. Gen. Jorge Segovia, acting chief of the AFP command center, said that while the military and police had taken over the areas that the MILF had occupied earlier in the day, “things are still volatile.”

“Pursuit operations are ongoing ... they still have hostages with them,” Segovia said.

The MILF signed a ceasefire agreement with Manila in 2003 which opened the way for peace talks.

However, the Supreme Court on Aug. 4 halted a deal that would have given Muslims virtual statehood in Mindanao, sparking a backlash by rebel MILF units who earlier attacked government positions and took over several dozen villages in North Cotabato. They were eventually repelled by the military with artillery and helicopter gunships.

Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog, chief of the Philippine Air Force, said additional air power had been deployed in the conflict zone and that air strikes would be launched against known MILF positions.

“The strikes will be on confirmed areas where MILF members are concentrated. The areas are determined by troops on the ground. It’s [going to be] a well-coordinated air strike operation to minimize collateral damage,” Cadungog said. With reports from Tarra Quismundo and Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., in Manila; and Aquiles Z. Zonio, Richel V. Umel, Julie S. Alipala, Ryan D. Rosauro, Grace C. Albasin and Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao