MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines gave Muslim rebels 24 hours to pull out of nine Catholic farming villages they have occupied or face a combined military and police offensive, in a ratcheting up of tension in the volatile south. Members of the Philippine's largest Islamic rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stand guard inside the guerrilla base during the central committee hearing in the southern island of Mindanao in this March 11, 2008 file photo. (REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/Files) "This is not a declaration of war," Ronaldo Puno, interior secretary, told a news conference on Thursday. "The government will not allow these things to happen. We're giving them a deadline otherwise, they shall be forcibly removed from the area." Manila's ultimatum against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) risks a 2003 ceasefire...
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