Philippine army limits aid workers in violent south

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine troops have restricted aid workers from visiting conflict zones in the south to distribute relief supplies to nearly 450,000 displaced people, the military and aid workers said on Monday.

Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres said the army had imposed some restrictions to ensure the safety of aid workers bringing in food and other supplies to temporary shelters.

"There's no food blockade," Torres said, adding some areas on the southern island of Mindanao had become inaccessible because of recent fighting between the army and renegades from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Some international and non-government organizations involved in the relief operations said the restrictions may worsen the humanitarian crisis in conflict-affected areas.

"We've not been officially informed about these changes in the delivery of relief goods, but we're concerned," said a U.N. aid worker. "We're accountable for the goods that we distribute and we're worried that these could be diverted somewhere else."

Last week, soldiers stopped a U.N. convoy from distributing food to displaced people in Kauswagan town, asking aid workers to coordinate their activities with local disaster agencies.

Torres said there had been a lull in fighting during the past 24 hours as rogue members of the MILF had retreated deep into the forested mountains of Mindanao.

"It's been relatively peaceful but we've not stopped our clearing operations," he said, adding nearly 20 rebel bases had been seized since August 18, when fighting erupted.

Rogue members of the MILF went on the rampage two weeks ago after a territorial deal with the government was halted by the Supreme Court. The military has said nearly 200 people have been killed in fighting since then.

Manila is using the rebel attacks to shift its peace policy from negotiating with the guerrilla leaders to talking with local communities.

On Monday, the government began consultations with villagers on Mindanao to gather wider feedback on how to proceed with the peace process.

"We are not abandoning the peace talks with the MILF, but the emphasis now will be greatly on conducting dialogues with communities," Hermogenes Esperon, Manila's peace adviser, told reporters.

"Why should the armed component dictate the tempo of the peace process? There is a bigger Muslim community, a bigger Filipino community."

The MILF has threatened to withdraw from the peace process if the territorial deal is not signed.

The government has been in on-off talks with the MILF since 1997 to end nearly 40 years of rebellion that has killed 120,000 people and stunted growth in an impoverished region believed to be sitting on huge deposits of metals and hydrocarbons.

(Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Paul Tait)