MANILA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Fresh fighting broke out between the Philippine military and the main Islamic separatist group on southern Mindanao island, rebel and military officials said on Tuesday, as the two sides prepared for peace talks set to be held next week.
Colonel Gerry Jalandoni, the brigade commander in Maguindanao area on Mindanao, said four rebels were killed and two militiamen wounded when members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked government positions in Datu Unsay town on Monday.
"We only defended our positions," Jalandoni said, adding that an undetermined number of rebels were wounded when the army sent reinforcements to push back the attackers.
But the MILF gave a different account of the clash, saying the fighting was triggered by an army attack on rebel positions and that one rebel was killed and eight wounded.
The country's largest Muslim rebel group also said it was worried that fighting might escalate into full-blown hostilities and affect the upcoming peace talks, to be held in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
"The incident would certainly affect the peace process," the MILF's chief negotiator, Mohaqher Iqbal, told Reuters by telephone.
"We protest the military attack. This is a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement."
Government and MILF peace negotiators are due to resume talks on Feb. 6-7 in Kuala Lumpur as part of efforts to set up an ancestral homeland for four million Muslims in the southern part of the mostly Roman Catholic nation.
Since March 2001, Malaysia has been hosting talks between the two sides to end a conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people and delayed development of the impoverished but resourch-rich southern island of Mindanao.