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July 31, 2003, The Philippine Star, Philippines: Muslim rebels admit buying weapons from military,

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July 31, 2003, The Philippine Star, Philippines: Muslim rebels admit buying weapons from military,

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatists waging a 25-year insurgency in Mindanao claimed yesterday to have bought weapons from the military, confirming an allegation by soldiers who launched a failed revolt against the government.

However, there is no wholesale "collusion" between the MILF and the military and it was likely that only individual soldiers were selling weapons to the guerrillas, said MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu.

"We understand through our simple inquiry that these firearms come from the (government) arsenal," he said.

"There's no direct links between the MILF and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). We do buy firearms and ammunition, not necessarily from the AFP directly."

Kabalu said in Mindanao, where the MILF has been waging a guerrilla war for the past 25 years, weapons are "a prime commodity" very much in demand.

"We do not bother ... [ellipsis as carried] to determine the source of the materials," he said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said the chamber would investigate today allegations by the mutineers, whose ringleaders have been arrested prior to facing court martial.

"We intend to get to the bottom of the soldiers' grievances," he said. "Definitely, this will be an independent and non-partisan investigation."

The mutineers also accused top defence officials of masterminding terrorist bombings in Central Mindanao and blaming it on the MILF in an apparent bid to extract more aid from the United States in the war against terror.

But Kabalu said he had no knowledge that the government was behind any of the recent bombings in Davao City, at the same time reiterating MILF denials that they were behind the deadly blasts.

Some 300 renegade soldiers, who took over the posh Oakwood Premier apartment building and Glorietta Mall in Makati Sunday, accused the Arroyo administration of selling weapons to the MILF, the New People's Army and the Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang to prolong their rebellion and get more military and financial aid from the United States.

They booby-trapped the area and demanded that Mrs Arroyo and other top officials resign for alleged corruption in the military before peacefully surrendering after a tense day-long standoff.

Weapons previously recovered from MILF camps overran by troops in Mindanao were marked with "DND arsenal", the mutineers said, indicating it came from the Department of National Defence.

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