The Philippine army flew more troops to the southern island of Jolo today on the fifth day of fierce fighting with two groups of Muslim rebels as appeals for a truce by local leaders was ignored.
The military said nearly 30 soldiers and about 60 rebels had been killed in clashes since Monday.
Nearly 4,000 soldiers, including several hundred recent reinforcements, have been fighting about 800 militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and rogue members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) since a rebel ambush on Monday.
At least 7,000 villagers have poured into Jolo town to escape the fighting. Lieutenant-General AlbertoBraganza, the most senior commander in the southern Philippines, said it was beyond his authority to contemplate a ceasefire. "I have a mission to accomplish on the ground," he said.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said yesterday the operations on Jolo were aimed at "terrorists and criminals".
Abu Sayyaf, mainly known for kidnappings, has also been blamed for several bombings, including one that sank a ferry near Manila Bay in February 2004, killing more than 100 people.
After the MNLF signed a peace deal brokered by Indonesia in 1996, some disaffected followers of former separatist leader Nur Misuari formed alliances with Abu Sayyaf.
Although the clashes on Jolo are the bloodiest since 2001, when 500 people were killed in a failed uprising led by Misuari, they are unlikely to affect peace talks with the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which broke from the MNLF in 1978.