Policemen stand beside people queuing up along Maginhawa street in Quezon city, Philippines, Apr 19, 2021. COTABATO, Philippines: Dozens of Muslim militants occupied a public market overnight in the southern Philippines before fleeing after a tense stand-off with government forces, officials said on Saturday .
Baldomar said government forces locked down the town centre, where the public market is located, and closed a highway at the height of the hours-long rebel occupation of the market. Datu Paglas Vice Mayor Mohammad Paglas, however, gave a different account and told reporters that the mostly young Muslim rebels arrived on board five trucks in the town centre on Friday to rest and mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan.He added some of the gunmen have relatives in the town in predominantly Muslim Maguindanao province.
When troops and police, some on board armoured personnel carriers, arrived, the rebels were forced to retreat into the public market for cover but allowed people to leave the building, he said.Baldomar said some of the gunmen opened fire on civilian motorists, who were trapped along the highway. The motorists later managed to flee with the help of the military, he said.
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