Philippine troops advance, ceasefire fails

Philippine troops have closed in on Muslim rebel positions and cut off escape routes to end a week-long stand-off that has left more than 60 people dead in the southern city of Zamboanga, officials say.

Sporadic clashes continued as soldiers moved to clear Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) gunmen from coastal neighbourhoods after a ceasefire plan collapsed, with thousands more residents fleeing to safety.

As troops moved through the Santa Barbara district on Sunday, the extent of the damage from seven days of fighting came into full view, with buildings reduced to smouldering heaps or pockmarked with bullet holes, an AFP reporter said.

Soldiers recovered the bodies of two slain gunmen and several unexploded warheads for use in rocket propelled grenades had been left behind by the fleeing rebels.

In a nearby district, a group of soldiers could be seen crouched on the street as sniper fire whizzed just above their heads, television footage showed.

"We are continuing to press forward with our calibrated military response," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala told AFP.

"Fighting is continuing as we speak. They continue to resist and conduct offensive actions against us."

Heavily armed MNLF forces entered the port city's coastal neighbourhoods Monday and took dozens of hostages in a bid to scupper peace talks between another militant group and the government aimed at ending a decades-long rebellion in the south.

Zagala said the fighting was now concentrated in two coastal districts, while other areas were secure.

But the attack underscored the complexity of ending conflict in the southern third of the mostly Catholic Philippines, where there are several armed Muslim factions and which has seen a proliferation of unlicensed firearms.

Day and night operations by at least 3,000 elite government troops have now seen 51 MNLF rebels killed, as well as six soldiers, a policemen and four civilians.

Air and sea ports remained closed Sunday.