At least 21 people were killed in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao on Monday, in what the authorities described as one of the country’s worst cases of political violence in recent memory.
The deaths among a group of hostages seized by armed men came three days after the start of the 12-day period for the filing of candidacies for national and local polls next May, and put pressure on Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Philippine president, to declare emergency rule in the province, which is 930km south of Manila.
