The announcement came as the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front already appeared to be unraveling after Monday’s rampage, which also led 44,000 people to flee their homes in southern Lanao del Norte province.

After years of tough Malaysian brokered negotiations, the Philippine government and the 11,000-strong rebel front forged an accord last month that calls for the expansion of an existing Muslim autonomous region in the country’s troubled south, homeland of minority Muslims and scene of decades-long Muslim separatist rebellions.

Under the accord, more than 700 villages will be added to the Muslim region, fueling protests from majority Christian politicians, some of whom asked the Supreme Court to stop its signing in Malaysia. Other opponents say the accord was unconstitutional because it would carve a separate Islamic state from the country.

The Supreme Court stopped its scheduled signing while it looked into the petitions. Rebel leaders said they did not sanction Monday’s attacks, adding the guerrillas were apparently upset by the court’s decision.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the government was concerned that the rebel leadership may not be able to control all their forces and such attacks could be repeated.

Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera told the Supreme Court “circumstances have changed” since the aborted signing of the Malaysia-brokered accord, referring to the rebel attacks and an ambush Sunday that killed four soldiers and four government militiamen.

She asked that challenges to the accord be thrown out because the deal, “in its present form, must undergo a thorough review,” adding the government will pursue “further negotiations” with the rebels to address issues raised by opponents of the deal.

But chief rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal ruled out fresh negotiations, saying both sides had initialed a memorandum. He called resuming talks “like opening a can of worms.”

“It’s going to be a deadlock,” Iqbal told The Associated Press by phone.

He hinted the impasse could set off an escalation in fighting.

Philippine troops already have been walking a tightrope, with orders to pursue Muslim rebels blamed for the recent attacks without jeopardizing the peace process. The two-track policy was outlined during a frustration-packed meeting in southern Iligan city hall where Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro heard local officials and residents angrily demand all-out war against the rebels.

“It might be a very popular policy here to have an all-out eradication,” Teodoro said. “My policy is to secure and defend, in accordance with the law, innocent civilians and to preserve the integrity of the republic, but not by eradicating people like they are mice.”

Underscoring the unstable situation, about 30 rebels attacked an army patrol base Wednesday at Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao province, wounding a lieutenant, regional military spokesman Maj. Armand Rico said, adding that the military responded with mortar and howitzer fire.

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