President Halts War Against Rebels
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suspended military operations against Muslim separatist rebels in a bid to kick-start stalled peace talks.
But Arroyo said there would be no withdrawal of government forces, as demanded by the rebels, from dozens of guerrilla bases seized by troops last year in the country’s south. She also ruled out establishing a separate Islamic state on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
More than 120,000 people have been killed in the war between the government and the Muslim separatists, which has dragged on for about three decades.
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