2,838 killed in insurgency violence — AFP

At least 2,838 soldiers and rebels were killed in insurgent violence in the Philippines in 2005, according to military statistics released yesterday.

Soldiers accounted for 723 of the fatalities while the communist New People’s Army (NPA), who have been fighting for over three decades to set up a Maoist state, suffered 1,810 dead, the military said.

The Abu Sayyaf, an extremist group linked by intelligence services to the al-Qaeda network, suffered 171 dead, while the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) incurred 118 fatalities.

The Abu Sayyaf engaged in bombings and mass kidnappings, while the MILF forged a cease-fire three years ago to negotiate peace with the government. But clashes with MILF commanders still take place sporadically.

The remaining 16 fatalities were from the Misuari Breakaway Group (MBG), followers of Nur Misuari, a former Muslim leader who was made governor of a Muslim autonomous region as part of a peace deal.

However, Misuari lost his position and staged a brief rebellion in 2001 before being arrested and jailed.

The government suffered the most casualties in battling NPA guerrillas in the countryside, losing 458 troops; followed by 181 against the Abu Sayyaf; 68 soldiers against the MBG and only 16 against breakaway MILF fighters. — Jaime Laude