Zambonga - Separatist Muslims have stepped up attacks in the southern Philippines to pressure the government into restarting stalled peace talks, a senior military official said Tuesday.
In the latest attack members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fought a brief fire fight with government troops near Aleosan town on the southern island of Mindanao.
Although no one was hurt in the attack, regional army chief Maj. Gen. Reymundo Ferrer said the Armed Forces had already recorded more than 10 violent incidents by the MILF since early June.
"We have received reports that they (MILF) are doing this to pressure the government to fast track the peace talks," he told reporters.
The International Monitoring Team (IMT) overseeing the ceasefire between the government and the MILF, ends its mandate in August.
In May some 60 Malaysian troops, who made up the bulk of the IMT, began pulling out of the Philippines saying they were frustrated by the slow progress of the peace effort.
The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a separatist rebellion in the southern Mindanao region since 1978.
In 2003 it signed a ceasefire to open peace talks and bring an end to the violence which has claimed thousands of lives.
Negotiations have been stalled for months due to disagreements over what authority the MILF would exercise over Muslim-populated areas they claim as their ancestral homeland.
According to Ferrer, elements within the MILF want to put pressure on the government to resume the talks.
"While reiterating the primacy of the peace process, President Arroyo called on the military to be vigilant and address the resurgence of violent incidents," her spokesman Jesus Dureza said.
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com (July 01, 2008)