At least 23 fighters were killed in clash between two Muslim rebel factions in the southern Philippines that started early this week, a military report said Saturday.
The fighting erupted Tuesday between the main Moro Islamic Liberation Front and a group led by rogue MILF commander Umbra Kato, the report said, DPA reported.
More than 2,500 people have fled their homes in the towns of Datu Piang and Guindulungan town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, where the clashes were concentrated.
The report said supporters of Kato were killed and 9 were killed from the side of the MILF rebels.
It said the MILF appeared to be gaining headway and had driven the rival faction from its position in Datu Piang.
"The MILF forces continued to advance while the rival group was on the retreat," said a military officer who requested anonymity.
The MILF said the clashes were triggered by a land conflict between a commander affiliated with Kato and a MILF rebel commander, and were not related to the group's peace talks with the government.
Kato split from the MILF in December and called for all-out war against the government after criticizing the rebel leadership for continuing the peace negotiations.
Last week, President Benigno Aquino III and MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim held an unannounced meeting at a hotel in Japan to hasten the peace talks.
The MILF has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines since 1978. It entered into peace negotiations with the government in 1997.