Filipino rebels opposed to talks attack southern town

MANILA: A group of Muslim rebels opposed to peace talks with the Philippine government has stormed a southern town and seized several hostages while battling security forces.
The military reported the rebels attacked Midsayap town in North Cotabato province on Monday and triggered clashes with government forces. As troops closed in, the withdrawing rebels split into several groups and took four teachers and 11 farmers hostage.
Some hostages were later released and it wasn’t clear how many are still held. One soldier was killed.
The attackers belong to Bangasamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has signed a peace agreement in exchange for autonomy for majority Muslim parts of the southern Philippines.
The violence came as troops clear Zamboanga City, also in the south, of another faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who took hundreds of villagers hostages on Sept. 9.
The MILF itself broke away from the MNLF of Nur Misuari in late 70s when the main group reduced its initial call for a separate Muslim state to that of autonomy.
In 1996, the MNLF signed a peace agreement with the national government but the MILF refused to be bound by it.