Scores of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas attacked Philippine government troops in South Cotabato, breaking a cease-fire agreement between the rebel group and the government in 2002, the military said on Monday.

The rebel attack was launched on Saturday against a detachment of the Army's 57th Infantry Battalion in Tupi town, South Cotabato Province on the island of Mindanao, some 1,000 kilometers south of Manila, belated reports reaching the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo said on Monday.

The reports from the military's Southern Command said that about 40 rebel men opened fire at the government troops' base around 12:10 p.m. using two rocket propelled grenades and assorted high-powered firearms.

Soldiers at the base exchanged gun fires with the rebels for at least 15 minutes, before the rebels withdrew, according to the reports. No casualty was reported on both sides.

The same reports said that elements of the Army's 27th Infantry Battalion were dispatched to reinforce the troops and conduct pursuit operations against the rebels. However, the initial efforts yielded no results.

The clash occurred weeks after formal peace negotiations between the MILF and the government suffered a setback in their talks on the last substantive issue of ancestral domain.

Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz remains confident that a final peace agreement with the MILF would be reached before the celebration of Ramadan in September, the Muslim's month-long holy celebration.

In her independence-day address earlier on Monday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that she is looking forward to achieving peace and unity in the south of the country within the year.

Source: Xinhua