Moro signed a ceasefire with Manila in 2001, but sporadic clashes in remote areas have persisted

MANILA, January 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A lone assailant has shot and killed a peace negotiator for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines, the military said Sunday, January 5.

MILF negotiator Edu Abdulah, 45, died instantly from four gunshot wounds, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the military as saying.

He was shot outside the residence of senior MILF adviser Ghadzali Jaafar in the town of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat province.

Authorities suspect the motive for the killing could be personal grudge, and a manhunt has been launched for the killer.

The 12,000-strong MILF is the country's largest remaining Muslim force fighting for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in the south since 1978.

It signed a ceasefire with Manila in 2001 to pave the way for peace talks, but sporadic clashes between the military and MILF fighters in remote areas have persisted.

It was not clear how the killing could affect the peace negotiations.

Five slain, 11 wounded in clash with Abu Sayyaf

In another development, five fighters were killed and 11 government soldiers wounded when troops clashed with the Abu Sayyaf group in the southern island of Jolo, military officials said Saturday, January 4.

The shootings occurred on the outskirts of Maimbung town in Jolo island on Friday, January 3, Brigadier General Romeo Tolentino, head of an anti-Abu Sayyaf task force said.

The guerrillas are suspected to have suffered more casualties as they were seen dragging some of their fellow members away during the battle, officials added.

Military officers said they expected more clashes as troops continue their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf, a group linked by both Washington and Manila to the al-Qaeda network.

However there was no word on the fate of three Indonesian seamen and four Filipina Christian preachers still being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in the jungles of Jolo island, south of this city.

Philippines evacuates workers from strife-torn Ivory Coast

In a world participation of the asian state, the Philippines has evacuated some 24 Filipino workers from the strife-torn Ivory Coast, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said Sunday.

The group included women who were duped by illegal recruiters into working as bar girls without any salaries for the past year, Ople said.

There are an estimated 50 more Filipinos working in Ivory Coast who have yet to be evacuated, he said.

The 24 touched down at Manila airport late Friday, January 3, after a grueling 20-hour journey.

Ivory Coast, a former French colony in the western coast of Africa, is in the thick of a civil war led by rebels from the north opposing the rule of President Laurent Gbagbo.