The Philippine military said Monday its troops are hunting down 3,000 armed followers of a powerful Muslim clan whose provincial stronghold was placed under martial law after its leaders were accused of a brutal massacre.

NONE The gunmen are supporters of the feared Ampatuan family who fled to the hills on the outskirts of Maguindanao province before President Gloria Arroyo imposed martial law Friday in the wake of the November mass murders.

"The number would not be less than 3,000," said Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer, who has been named administrator of Maguindanao under martial law.

"These (militiamen) are in hiding with their weapons. They have said they will fight and there are many of them," Ferrer told radio station DZBB from his base in the south.

"They managed to slip out some guns and ammunition before martial law," Ferrer said. "(They) are in a defensive position, and the information we have received is that they are prepared to fight the government."

Members of the Ampatuan family, which has ruled the province since 2001, are accused of orchestrating the November 23 massacre of 57 people, including members of a rival family and 30 journalists.

Arroyo said she was forced to impose martial law after Ampatuan forces threatened to attack if the leaders were taken into custody.

Anti-tank weapons

Thousands of troops and police have taken over the province since martial law was imposed and raids on Ampatuan properties have yielded a vast array of military hardware, including anti-tank weapons and armoured personnel carriers.

NONE Colonel Crescente Ferrer, who has been leading the raids, said another four machine guns were found Monday hidden in a grassy plot outside the Ampatuan mansion in the provincial capital Shariff Aguak.

As of Sunday, 62 people had been arrested, including clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Snr and four other clan members. His son, Andal Ampatuan Jnr, is being held in a Manila jail charged with 25 counts of murder, while other leaders face charges of rebellion.

NONE Police said the murders were carried out to prevent a rival politician, Esmael Mangudadatu, from challenging Ampatuan Jnr for the governor's post in an election in May.

Ampatuan Snr has ruled the province as governor since 2001 and was grooming his son to take his place. Other clan members were appointed to high provincial posts in Maguindanao, an impoverished province of 700,000 people.

Private army

General Ferrer conceded the clan was able to maintain a private army because the government had used it in the past to help contain a Muslim separatist rebellion that has claimed more than 150,000 lives since the 1970s.

"The problem was they went beyond government control. The family controlled them and they were used for evil deeds," Ferrer said.

NONE The government said it has taken full control of Shariff Aguak, and on Monday Defence Secretary Norberto Gonzales led government employees in a symbolic flag raising and singing of the national anthem.

The staff pledged allegiance to the government as armoured personnel carriers patrolled highways and heavily armed troops guarded government buildings.

Despite the heavy military presence, Ferrer said fear of the Ampatuans and their forces remain deep-seated.

"The (belief) here is that when you speak against the Ampatuans, you will not last a day, and you will never be found," Ferrer said.