US troops in southern Philippines concern opposition

PHILIPPINES: A Philippine opposition leader on Thursday expressed concern over the involvement of US troops in the hunt for Muslim militants in the south of the country.

"The Americans' presence in a combat area should be looked into and clarified," House of Representatives member Satur Ocampo of the leftist Bayan Muna (People First) party told AFP.

He said there was already "circumstantial" evidence that the heavily-armed US Special Forces troops photographed by an AFP photographer earlier this week were violating the Philippine constitution. The constitution bars foreign forces from engaging in combat in the Philippines.

"It is only a matter of time before they fire their guns," Ocampo added. Congressman Crispin Beltran of the Anakpawis, also a small leftist party, echoed Ocampo's concerns and called on the Philippine military to disclose how many US troops are involved in the current offensive on Jolo against the Abu Sayyaf.

"Both the Philippine military top brass and the US military leadership in the country are lying through their teeth about the US troops not being involved in this offensive," the leftist congressman said in a statement issued Wednesday.

"It is evident that the very presence of the US troops in the areas where the search and attack operations are being conducted implied involvement," he said.

The US embassy has denied any direct involvement in the hunt for the Abu Sayyaf saying its Special Forces troops are providing intelligence and training.

Philippine armed forces chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon also rejected the allegations, insisting the American troops "are not engaged in combat, they are providing us technical assistance and they continue with their civil military operations."

Technical intelligence includes providing Filipino troops with satellite imagery, communication intercepts, details of locations and aerial monitoring.

A US unit has been stationed in the southern region of Mindanao since 2002 and are involved in what the military call "unconventional warfare."

At any one time between 100 to 500 US special forces troops are deployed in Mindanao and islands along the Sulu archipelago including Jolo, according to intelligence sources.

On August 9, the Philippine army suffered its biggest single-day loss in decades when 26 soldiers died in two clashes with the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo.

A month earlier, 14 marines died in a daylong battle with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters in the neighbouring island of Basilan.

Manila, Thursday, AFP