|
  |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
P'pine rebels blamed for blackout
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (Reuters) -- The Philippine army says Islamic militants using mortars have blown up a power pylon, cutting power to almost all of the country's main southern island of Mindanao. A loud explosion toppled the pylon in Lanao del Norte province late on Wednesday, plunging into darkness around 90 percent of the island's 24 million people. It was the 12th electrical transmitter operated by state-run National Power Corp to be disabled in the past two weeks in the wake of clashes between soldiers and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the biggest group fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the predominantly Catholic country. An army official said Thursday three mortar shells were used in the attack and troops were hunting for fighters from the MILF. "We are pursuing the MILF forces who attacked the station," Major General Crislito Balaoing, an infantry commander in Northern Mindanao told Reuters. The attack occurred as 60,000 troops were on high alert on the island to ward off what the military said were possible attacks by MILF guerrillas. One of the cities affected by the outage was Zamboanga, where about 200 U.S. troops are training local soldiers in counter-terrorism tactics to fight Muslim radicals. "There was a loud explosion ... My worst fear has come," National Power Corp spokesman Rufino Magbanua said. The blackout started shortly after 11 p.m. (1500 GMT). A Power Corp corp spokesman told Philippine television on Thursday morning that power had been restored to around 85 percent of the island. The military also blamed the MILF for the 11 previous attacks on pylons on the island. Army officials believe the attacks are reprisals for the capture by government forces of an MILF stronghold in Pikit town after fierce clashes two weeks ago. Mindanao, 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of Manila, is a major source of agricultural and marine products for the Philippines' 80 million people, and accounts for about 18 percent of the country's economic output. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
