DHAKA: Muslim militants traded gunfire with Philippine troops Tuesday and were using almost 200 villagers as human shields, officials said, in a stand-off after a deadly attack on a southern city.

Gunshots rang out on the coastal outskirts of Zamboanga city on the second day of a confrontation between the government and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters intent on derailing peace talks.

‘The security forces... have stabilised the situation. It has been contained and isolated and won’t spread to other areas,’ Philippines interior secretary Mar Roxas told reporters, adding that authorities were trying to negotiate with the gunmen, according to gulfnews.com.

About 180 residents are being used as ‘human shields’ in six villages where the rebels are holed up and surrounded by security forces, Roxas told a joint news conference with Zamboanga mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar.

BDST: 2028 HRS, SEPT 10, 2013
RoR/RK