Thursday, November 15, 2007
RP gov’t, Muslim rebels break stalemate on scope of Muslim homeland (6:06 p.m.)
KUALA LUMPUR -- The Philippine government reached an agreement Thursday with the country's main Islamic separatist group on carving out boundaries for a Muslim homeland in the conflict-ridden south.
Philippine officials have wrangled for years with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) about the extent of a territory that would fall under Muslim control in the impoverished Mindanao region – the scene of a bloody, decades-long insurrection by guerrilla groups such as the MILF.
"Demarcation (of the homeland's boundaries) has been agreed," Rodolfo Garcia, the chief Philippine government negotiator, told reporters at the end of two days of talks with MILF officials in Kuala Lumpur. (AP)
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