Free Republic

Excerpt - MANILA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Muslim separatists in the southern Philippines are holding Manila's military chief, the head of the government's truce panel, a colonel and an undetermined number of soldiers hostage, senior military sources said on Saturday. Members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were refusing to let Brigadier-General Ben Dolorfino, the commander of military forces in the capital, and Ramon Santos, government undersecretary for the peace process with the MNLF, leave their camp until their jailed founder was released. Local media reported that more than 20 senior military, defence and government officials were being held...

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - At least five factions of the oldest Muslim rebel movement in the Philippines opened talks on reunification Saturday, seeking to strengthen the 1996 peace agreement with the Philippine government, Libyan officials said. A Philippine government representative and the governor of the southern Philippine province of Mindanao were attending the talks, scheduled to last two days, the officials said. The Moro National Liberation Front fought for Muslim self-rule in the southern Philippines in the 1970s. With the help of Libyan mediation, it signed a peace deal with the government in 1996 that granted the region limited autonomy....