MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Violence claimed seven lives in the Philippines Sunday amid a deadlocked attempt to sign a peace deal with Muslim separatists in Mindanao, officials said.
Four Filipino soldiers and three militiamen died and 11 others were hurt early Sunday morning when a military convoy was attacked by suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, MILF, at Mulondo, Lanao del Sur, ABS-CBN News reported.
The proposed peace deal, which would grant Muslims in Mindanao "state-within-a-state" status, is supported by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but has run into fierce opposition from those who don't want to alter the Philippines' constitution, the International Herald Tribune said.
The country would have to switch to a federal republic style of government to allow some form of autonomy in Mindanao. An Arroyo spokesman told the newspaper she supports a proposal to divide the country into 11 federal states, each empowered to chart its development. Provinces now have to defer to the central government in Manila on major decisions.
Arroyo's government appeared to have brokered a peace agreement with the MILF earlier this month, but when details were released it produced a political deadlock.
