MILF warns Daesh seeks foothold in south

KUALA LUMPUR — Daesh is trying to establish a stronghold in the violence-racked southern Philippines, the head of the nation’s biggest Muslim rebel organization warned on Monday. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Murad Ebrahim said the extremist Daesh seeks to capitalize on growing frustration over the breakdown of efforts to end a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion in the southern Mindanao region. The peace process has been frozen since the Philippine congress failed last month to pass a bill, agreed between the government and the MILF, that would have granted autonomy to the region. “Now, after the non-passage of the (bill), we are quite concerned that they (Daesh) can capitalize on this, because the sentiment of the people in the area is now very strong. The frustrations after the non-passage of the law — they can capitalize on that,” Murad told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. Gunmen pledging allegiance to the militants controlling vast swathes of Iraq and Syria have instigated a series of deadly battles with the army in the volatile southern Philippines since parliament blocked the peace push. Murad said the MILF was seeking dialogue with Daesh-allied militants to dissuade them for further attacks. — AFP