COTABATO, the Philippines, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government on Thursday suspended its military offensive against armed Muslim separatists in the southern Philippines.
Executive Secretary Educardo Ermita said the suspension of assault against the Moro Islamic liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest rebel group, was aimed at getting the rebels back to the negotiation table.
Ermita said, however, government soldiers would remain in the defensive mode.
The military have been hunting down three rebel commanders who led deadly attacks last year and killed 60 civilians following the aborted signing of a key agreement in the peace deal.
The attacks prompted the government to suspend peace talks with the MILF and ordered a massive assault in insurgency-infested Mindanao. The fighting has affected more than 600,000 people.
The 11,800-member MILF has been fighting government troops for decades to establish a self-rule Muslim state in the south of the predominantly Catholic country.
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