Webcast News Service, 7 September 2008

The International Committee of the Red Cross says up to half a million people have been affected by Islamic terrorist attacks and tens of thousands have fled their homes on Mindanao Island in southern Philippines.

Fighting between the Philippines armed forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front broke out on Mindanao on August 10. The International Committee of the Red Cross says the intensity of the armed conflict is fierce and has forced more than 130,000 people to flee their homes.

ICRC Spokeswoman Carla Haddad says most people were in such a state of panic, they fled with just the clothes on their back. She says some displaced people have returned home, but many are fearful of renewed attacks and remain in evacuation centers.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been fighting for a separate Islamic State since 1978. In 2003, it signed a ceasefire with Manila to open the way for peace talks.

Fighting resumed nearly a month ago, after the Philippine Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against signing a peace agreement. Following that decision, President Gloria Arroyo dissolved a negotiating panel seeking a political solution to the 30-year rebellion.

Haddad says villagers who have been sheltering the displaced are under enormous strain. She says the rainy season has begun, making an already terrible situation even worse.