Peace Update: The largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines said Monday that a peace accord with the government could be forged soon despite recent attempts by a breakaway guerrilla faction to derail the talks. Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator of the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said more than 50 percent of the issues being tackled by the rebels and government negotiators in Malaysian-brokered talks have been settled in principle. President Benigno Aquino III has expressed hope that a peace pact can be signed as early as December.

 "The Moro group has been battling for decades for self-rule for minority Muslims in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic country. The rebellion has left more than 120,000 people dead, held back progress in the resource-rich south and sparked worries by Western governments that rebel strongholds could serve as breeding grounds for al-Qaida-linked extremists. The planned signing of a preliminary peace pact in 2008 was scuttled when the Supreme Court declared the agreement unconstitutional, prompting three rebel commanders to launch attacks on Christian communities in the south. The attacks and an ensuing military offensive killed dozens of people and displaced about 750,000 villagers until the two sides agreed on a cease-fire."Muslim Rebels: Philippine Peace Pact Possible Soon - ABC News:

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