4,000 Troops Sent to Guard Voters in Philippine Province

MANILA — The military said Sunday that it sent 4,000 troops to protect voters in the southern island province of Sulu, the last area to vote in the Philippines’ violence-marred regional elections.

The island’s 214,000 voters are to choose three governors, 18 mayors and 126 members of town councils today in the final stage of balloting that began four weeks ago.

About 50 Muslim bandits Friday attacked the southern island town of Maimbung, about 600 miles south of Manila, said Col. Romeo Abendan, head of the Philippine constabulary in Sulu. He said four people were killed, three of them members of the Muslim rebel Moro National Liberation Front.

On Saturday, bandits attacked Kulasi village just outside Maimbung, but no casualties were reported, he said. In nearby Luuk, rival political groups traded fire with automatic weapons, but there were no reported fatalities, he said.