Truce reached after fighting kills 10

Philippine troops forged a ceasefire with Muslim guerrillas after 10 combatants were killed in clashes in a southern village and frantic efforts were made to prevent an escalation that could threaten a major

peace accord, military commanders and the rebels said Friday.

The clashes erupted this week in Ulitan village on the island province of Basilan, where emergency talks arranged by government and rebel mediators led to an indefinite ceasefire agreement between army forces and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel commanders.

The clashes left three soldiers dead and 15 others wounded, regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Abdurasad Sirajan said. A former rebel commander, Dan Asnawi, said at least seven insurgents were killed and six others were wounded.

The conflict underscored the fragility of law and order in a southern region faced with a surfeit of loose firearms, private armies, crushing poverty and a long history of violence.

Military and rebel commanders accused each other of violating the 2014 peace agreement, which eased years of bloody and extensive fighting between government forces and the Muslim rebel front.