20 arrests after massacre

Philippine security forces took control of two southern towns yesterday and arrested 20 men linked to the murder of 57 people in a brutal election-related massacre this week, authorities said.

Soldiers had also disarmed a 200-member paramilitary force under the control of a powerful political family as authorities prepared to take the principal suspect, who is one of the clan, into custody, said military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Romeo Brawner.

"We are expecting Mayor Andal Ampatuan jnr to be turned over peacefully to the authorities," Brawner said. There are no charges yet against Ampatuan.