Uneasy calm in Philippines

COTABATO, FEB 19: Guns fell silent on Saturday in two southern Philippine provines where three days of fighting between Muslim separatists and government troops left 23 guerrillas and two soldiers dead, the military said.

Local Army spokesman Captain Lito Aso said military operations in the provinces of Maguindanao and North Cotabato were temporarily halted against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front MILF, which is waging a 21-year separatist insurgency with Manila.