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Philippines ’seriously concerned’ over rebel split

06 February 2011 05:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The chief Philippine government negotiator said he was "seriously concerned" after a feared rebel commander broke from the main Islamic separatist group ahead of peace talks, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.
Ameril Umbrakato’s split from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) could compromise the talks between the government and the rebels, on Sunday warned Marivic Leonen.
"The government views the reported resignation of a known commander of the MILF with serious concern and looks forward to a clarification from the MILF (peace) panel," Leonen said in a statement.
Leonen, who is due to meet his MILF counterparts from Wednesday to reopen the stalled talks, said that the government wanted a settlement with the 12,000-strong MILF "at the soonest possible time".
But on Saturday, a top official of the MILF confirmed that the group had a potentially serious rebellion in its ranks after Umbrakato quit the rebel organisation seven months ago, taking at least a thousand fighters with him.
Umbrakato was one of the MILF commanders who broke the group’s ceasefire with the government in 2008 to launch deadly attacks on Christian communities in the south, leaving nearly 400 people dead and 70,000 displaced.
The attacks caused the peace process to come to a halt. It is only being revived now after the election in May last year of a new president, Benigno Aquino, who has revamped the country’s peace negotiating team.
More than 150,000 people have died since the early 1970s due to the rebellion, according to the government.
Recently, videos of Umbrakato have been circulating where he says that he is forming a new armed group to continue the struggle for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
Umbrakato’s split is just the latest example of MILF field commanders ignoring orders from the rebel leadership.
In recent weeks, another militant MILF commander has been leading his men in deadly clashes with another Muslim armed group over a land dispute in the south, resulting in about 13 dead.
The southern Philippine region of Mindanao is largely Christian but it has a sizable Muslim minority who consider the area as their ancestral home.

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Philippines ’seriously concerned’ over rebel split

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