MANILA: Philippine troops have been put on alert after a radical commander opposed to peace talks threatened to break away from the country's largest Muslim rebel group, an official said Wednesday. Amid differences with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's main guerrilla force, Ameril Umbra Kato formed his own group of about 1,000 fighters a few months ago, but remains within the larger rebel group. He has opposed Malaysian-brokered talks with Manila, saying the negotiations have gone nowhere, chief rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said. Emissaries from the main rebel group have been sent to persuade Kato not to break off from them. Kato's followers, who include about 100 armed men, have been joined by dozens of fleeing militiamen from a once-powerful clan accused of a 2009 massacre, but they have not committed any violence to sabotage the talks, Iqbal told The Associated Press. Government negotiator Marvic Leonen said troops have been on alert amid the rebel infighting. The talks would continue despite the problem, he told a news conference, but refused to say however if the negotiations could bog down if Kato decides to separate and form a new rebel group. “Just to assure the public, the armed forces and the police are in a state of defensive readiness,” Leonen said. “We are prepared for all contingencies.” During a resumption of talks in February, Leonen said that he and other officials conveyed their concern to rebel negotiators about Kato. The guerrillas assured him that Kato still belonged to their group, according to Leonen.
