Troops have surrounded at least four coastal villages where about 200 rebels are said to be holding scores of civilians as human shields. Thousands have fled their homes, leaving large parts of the city of nearly one million people largely deserted and resembling a war zone.


In a statement online, Zamboanga Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco said negotiations with the rebels are ongoing. She said the fighters have released at least seven of the hostages in exchange for food, but that around 100 civilians are still in the rebels' control.


The MNLF is seeking greater autonomy for the mainly Muslim south. It signed a peace deal with the government in 1996. But some of its members continued fighting, claiming Manila went back on its promises to develop the region.


The group has also protested Manila's peace talks with a breakaway faction, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Some members of the MNLF fear that a government peace deal with its rival group could diminish its own influence.


President Benigno Aquino has sent representatives to negotiate with the MNLF rebels, who say they want international mediation to the conflict. A similar situation in 2001 eventually ended with the rebels being allowed to go free after releasing the hostages.


The southern Philippines has been mired in a four decade-long insurgency that has killed more than 150,000 people.




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Philippine Rebels, Military Clash on Third Day of Standoff