Arroyo welcomes ceasefire offer

President Arroyo has demanded an end to MILF violence by 1 June

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has welcomed the offer of a 10-day ceasefire by Muslim separatist rebels.

She also asked the rebels, from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), to show sincerity by renouncing links with terrorist organisations.

Despite the ceasefire announcement - which is due to come into effect next Tuesday - the military accused the rebels of attacking two army positions in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing at least five civilians.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu acknowledged the attack, but said the five people killed were militiamen and therefore considered combatants.

While welcoming the MILF's ceasefire announcement, Ms Arroyo also demanded that the group hand over suspects blamed for a series of recent bomb attacks.

She also said the MILF should distance itself from terrorist organisations.

The group has been linked to the Abu Sayyaf rebels, who are also active in the southern Philippines, as well as the South-East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah and Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

But Mr Kabalu said Ms Arroyo's demand was "impossible". He also said the MILF could not hand over fighters involved in "legitimate encounters" with the military.

US support

The MILF's ceasefire offer was also welcomed by the United States, which expressed hope it would eventually lead to a resolution of the 25-year insurgency in the southern Philippines.

"It looks as if both sides are interested in getting back to serious talks," US ambassador Francis Ricciardone told a Manila radio station.

He said that US President George W Bush had already promised help to "underwrite peace" in the region.

Foreign ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also praised the prospect of a truce, Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said on Thursday.

The MILF's offer follows an intensified campaign by the Philippine military, after a spate of deadly attacks since March which the government blamed on the rebels.

President Arroyo has threatened to declare the MILF a terrorist group if it does not stop attacks by 1 June.

The MILF has been fighting for an Islamic state in the southern Philippines since 1978.