Peace talks between Philippines govt,Muslim rebels next week in Malaysia

Peace talks between the Philippines government and Muslim separatists are to resume in Malaysia next week after a 16-month impasse,the two sides said .

Peace talks between the Philippines government and Muslim separatists are to resume in Malaysia next week after a 16-month impasse,the two sides said today.

The panels agreed to resume the conduct of the peace negotiations on December 8-9,2009 in Kuala Lumpur, a joint statement said.

We are happy and optimistic about the resumption of the peace talks. We are looking forward to resuming the negotiations with the Philippine government, Mohagher Iqbal,chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said.

Talks collapsed after the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) launched deadly attacks across the southern Philippine island of Mindanao in August 2008.

The attacks came after the Supreme Court outlawed a proposed deal that would have given the MILF control over large areas of the south that were claimed by the rebel group as its ancestral domain.

Over 700,000 people were displaced at the height of the fighting and nearly 400 were killed in the clashes in what aid agencies described as a humanitarian crisis. More than 250,000 people remain in evacuation centres across Mindanao.

A new ceasefire was signed in September,paving the way for the resumption of talks.