Filipino troops reach a truce

Filipino troops reach a truce

COTABATO, Philippines (Reuter): Troops and separatist
guerrillas in the southern Philippines announced a Christmas
cease-fire on Saturday and said they would resume peace talks.

Army Brig. Gen. Renato Garcia and Gadzali Gaafar, political
affairs chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),
told reporters they had ordered their forces to cease-fire and
talks would resume today.

Sixteen soldiers and 22 MILF rebels have been killed in the
fighting in North Cotabato province on Mindanao island over the
past week, armed forces chief Gen. Arturo Enrile said on Friday.

A top Moslem rebel leader had earlier on Saturday urged Manila
to withdraw its troops.

Nur Misuari, leader of the mainstream Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF), said in a radio interview that Islamic nations
viewed the army offensive with suspicion.

"I am urging the armed forces of the Philippines to
immediately withdraw from Moro Islamic Liberation Front-
controlled (MILF) areas," he said.

The MILF is a breakaway faction of the MNLF, the main Moslem
group seeking limited self-rule in the south of the mainly
Christian Philippines.

Misuari, who is currently in the Middle East, is due to return
to the Philippines for the resumption of peace talks with the
government on Moslem autonomy.

Tension in North Cotabato mounted when troops arrived at the
site of a major irrigation project in the town of Carmen in
August. Sporadic fighting has already claimed up to 80 lives.

MILF rebels had been providing security for South Korean
engineers working on the project and the arrival of the soldiers
prompted a confrontation.

Work at the irrigation project has since been suspended.