Uneasy peace reigns on southern Philippine island

By Manny Mogato

JOLO, Philippines (Reuters) - The sound of guns used to be commonplace on Jolo, an island in the remote south of the Philippines used as a base by a rebel group linked to al Qaeda, but it has been relatively calm for a few years now.

About 5,000 Philippine soldiers, backed by between 200 to 500 U.S. soldiers, are deployed there, and besides combating the Abu Sayyaf rebels, they have been winning over the mainly Muslim residents by helping sink wells and building schools and roads.

But tensions have been rising over the past few months because of renewed Abu Sayyaf activity and a gunfight last week in which troops were accused of killing eight villagers threatens to undermine all that goodwill.

"This incident could potentially damage the friendly relations between the military and the people on the island," provincial governor Abdusakur Tan told Reuters on Saturday.

"I really want a closure on this incident."

The military has acknowledged that eight civilians, including three women and two children, were killed during a military operation near Ipil village on Jolo on February 4.

It has said three militants and two soldiers were killed during the operation but that an inquiry was in progress into the deaths of the villagers.

Sixty-four soldiers involved in the operations, including commandos and U.S.-trained troops, have been confined to barracks and the military has suspended all offensives against the rebels for the time being.