Eleven people were hacked to death in a clash between two Christian groups in the southern Philippines, police said yesterday.

The violence broke out on a remote island in Surigao del Norte province, 800 kilometres south of the capital Manila, on Wednesday.

Regional police director Fritz Quinanola said the victims were among about 100 members of the Pulahan cult, who stormed a shrine of a rival group, the Philippine Benevolent Missionary Association (PBMA). He said the Pulahan group held about 200 members of PBMA hostage before the fighting started.

(China Daily 2000/12/16)