Violence Claims 27 Lives in Philippine

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 28, 2001

Violence Claims 27 Lives in Philippine

wenty-seven people were killed when gunmen backing renegade Muslim leader Nur Misuari clashed Tuesday with the military and took about 50 mostly Christian hostages in the southern Philippines.

wenty-seven people were killed when gunmen backing renegade Muslim leader Nur Misuari clashed Tuesday with the military and took about 50 mostly Christian hostages in the southern Philippines.

The rebels warned they would kill their civilian captives, including children, after the military launched air and ground attacks to drive them out from a government complex they had occupied for about a week.

Lieutenant Colonel Danilo Servando, spokesman for the military southern command, said the civilians were seized as "human shields to prevent the military operation" against the heavily armed men.

The government sent an official from a Muslim self-rule area to negotiate with the leader of the hostage-takers, who marched with their captives to a suburban park.

Fifteen other people were wounded. The siege began before dawn Tuesday when the armed men launched mortar attacks and fired machine guns from the Cabatangan hilltop complex,

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