Filipino troops rushed to Mindanao
Updated
At least 1,000 Filipino troops have been rushed to the southern island of Mindanao to protect communities and help in the relief effort after a major upsurge of Muslim separatist violence.
A military spokesman says authorities are checking on reports that rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front had stopped a UN convoy and seized food supplies intended for civilians displaced by rebel raids.
The raids on mainly Christian villages, followed a Supreme Court writ against a draft peace agreement that proposed to give extended powers to a Muslim self-rule area that would be led by the MILF.
President Gloria Arroyo has since disbanded the government's peace negotiating team with the rebels.
