MNLF show of force points up security woes

ZAMBOANGA CITY: Security forces were thrown into alert and residents panicked after hundreds of former Moro rebels, many of them armed with anti-tank rockets and automatic weapons, paraded in Lamitan City in Basilan, army officials said.

Officials said that members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), clad in military uniform, marched through the city—some of them waving red flags—and caught local authorities by surprise.