MANILA — Muslim rebels waging a decades-long insurgency in the southern Philippines said Friday the military had provocatively violated a ceasefire as peace negotiators held crucial talks in Malaysia. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) issued the accusation amid talks that the government has said could lead to the imminent signing of a roadmap to end the insurgency that has claimed more than 150,000 lives. The MILF said the Philippine Marines had deployed more than 100 troops near Palimbang, a town on the southern Muslim homeland of Mindanao island where rebel troops were stationed, describing the move as “provocative”. “These troops of marines are not respecting and violating the ceasefire accord and the primacy of the peace process between the government and the MILF,” said a statement on its website. The troops arrived on Tuesday, the same day that the Malaysia talks began, according to the statement. “We can not understand why they are doing it deliberately... while the talks are ongoing. “It is only the government to blame when firefight erupts.” The military said it had moved troops into the area near Palimbang, but denied it had broken the ceasefire with the 12,000-strong MILF. The marine unit's commander, Col. Alexander Balutan, insisted they were enforcing arrest warrants against “lawless elements” — none of them MILF members — who had illegally cut down trees in Palimbang. “We have been directed by no less than (President Benigno Aquino) to conduct anti-illegal logging operations,” Balutan told reporters. “I am not targeting the MILF nor any of their camps. They have no camps in the area.” Peace talks are in their final stages and will be extended for at least one day, a senior government official said. Sources close to the discussions said an announcement on the outcome may not be made until Monday. After four days, both sides said they needed time to study details of a deal that would set in train a roadmap to create an autonomous region in Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao island before the end of President Aquino's term in 2016. “It's been extended, they are still talking at least until tomorrow and I don't know, it may be further extended,” Teresita Quintos-Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, told Reuters. “We're already in the final stages, both sides need to do more deliberations even among themselves and their principals.”— Agencies
