Free Republic

Although the indigenous uprising following American victory in the Philippine Islands (conducted by our former allies in the fight against the Spanish) ended formally in July 1902, various insurgent groups were determined to fight on. A great number of these were Moro terrorists, ancestors of today's MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), a bloodthirsty group of Islamic seperatists funded by nice people like Iran and -until recently- Muommar Gaddafi. The legend goes that after continued terrorist attacks on US troops and installations -in addition to the massacre of captured American soldiers- General Pershing ordered his Marines to go out and round-up 50 adult male perps.  Back...

The Philippine government is drafting a constitutional amendment that would authorize the establishment of a federal homeland for Muslims in the south of the country. The proposed amendment is part of a complex peace process between the government and a major Muslim rebel group. Douglas Bakshian reports from Manila. Last November, an important agreement was reached between the Philippine government and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The two sides agreed on the size of a proposed homeland for the country's Muslims in the south of the country. This definition of what is called "the territory" is part of...

MANILA - A controversial Muslim congressman was the target of a powerful bomb blast outside the Philippine House of Representatives that killed him and two others, police said this morning. Wahab Akbar, one of the most influential figures in the Philippines' restive south, died in hospital last night as doctors fought to save his life. A driver and a congressional aide were also killed. Nine other people were injured in the blast, which hit the south lobby of the sprawling complex in the capital Manila just minutes after most congressmen had left for the evening. Manila police Chief Geary Barias...

'Fifty dead' in Philippines clash More than 50 people have been killed in clashes between troops and Islamist militants in the southern Philippines, military officials say. The fighting, on Jolo island, began on Thursday when militants ambushed a military convoy, killing 10 soldiers. Fifteen more soldiers died in later gun battles, and at least 27 militants were killed, the military said. It blamed Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf and rogue elements in the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Thousands of Philippine troops, backed by US military trainers, are based in Jolo, some 950km (600 miles) south of the capital, Manila....

The Philippine government and a Muslim rebel group have been urged to end a three-day battle that has left at least 12 people dead and displaced thousands.The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) called on both sides to abide by a 1996 peace agreement. Government troops and helicopter gunships pounded a base of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on southern Jolo island at the weekend. It followed a mortar attack on two marine camps on Friday. That attack, which killed two marines and a child, has been blamed on an MNLF commander, Habier Malik. Government forces retaliated by...

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...

MANILA, Philippines, July 5 (UPI) -- Reports from the southern Philippines say some 3,000 people have fled their homes amid fighting between government troops, militias and Muslim insurgents. The fighting in Maguindanao province over the past week left more than 40 people dead, The Manila Times reported Tuesday. It also endangered negotiations between Manila and the Moro National Liberation Front. Those long-standing talks were expected to produce a final peace accord by September. New reports say the MNLF has blamed military backed militias loyal to the provincial governor for the violence, which they claim was in retaliation for a roadside...

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....