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                  Philippines Vice President to Discuss Truce

   The Philippines vice president heads to the southern city of Zamboanga
   Saturday to discuss a truce with Muslim rebels holding scores of
   civilian hostages.
   Jejomar Binay says rebel leader Nur Misuari agreed to a truce late
   Friday.
   However, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin says no cease-fire has been
   implemented and the rebels have continued to fire.
   Philippine troops in the key port city are battling about 200 rebels
   linked to the Moro National Liberation Front who stormed the city
   Monday, taking in scores of hostages who officials say are being used
   as human shields.
   At least 22 people have been killed in the fighting, which has forced
   around 13,000 residents to flee.
   President Benigno Aquino visited Zamboanga Friday to "personally assess
   the situation."
   MNLF founder Misuari has criticized the government`s peace talks with a
   breakaway faction, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Fearing the
   negotiations may marginalize his own group`s power, Misuari last month
   declared parts of the region to be independent of Manila.
   It is not clear to what extent Misuari is involved in the current
   standoff, as he has not appeared in public nor issued any official
   statement.
   The MNLF has long pushed for greater autonomy in the mainly Muslim
   south, where more than 150,000 people have died during a four
   decade-long insurgency.
   The group signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996 that led
   to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. But some
   of its members continued to fight, claiming Manila did not hold up its
   end of the deal to develop the impoverished, rural region.
   Under Misuari`s leadership, the MNLF in 2001 carried out a similar
   attack in Zamboanga. The fighters were later allowed to leave after
   releasing their hostages.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/philippines-vice-president-to-discuss
   -truce/1749646.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/philippines-vice-president-to-discuss-truce/1749646.html