The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) may extend its ceasefire with the Philippines government for another week following a request from Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"The request was made through brother Murad from the office of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad," said MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, referring to Murad Ebrahim, the MILF's military chief.

"The central committee will come out with a decision tomorrow," he added.

Malaysia, a member of the influential Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), has been mediating peace negotiations between the two warring parties.

Fresh attacks

However the Philippines govermnment today warned of a possible wave of terrorist attacks as soon as the unilateral ceasefire called by MILF separatist guerrillas expires this week

"We may face a fresh wave of terrorist threats," said President Gloria Arroyo today, on a visit to the troubled south.

"The police and military must be prepared, backed by the vigilance of alert communities."

The MILF declared a 10-day ceasefire earlier this month to give stalled peace talks a chance to resume. But Arroyo did not reciprocate, calling the move a tactical ploy by the rebels to regroup amid a massive military assault.

The ceasefire was to end on Thursday, and Arroyo vowed to "sustain selective punitive actions" against the MILF, which she and the military blame for a spate of deadly attacks that have left around 100 dead since March.

Extension welcomed

Meanwhile Armed forces deputy chief Lieutenant General Rodolfo Garcia said the military welcomed a possible extension of the truce "if that is indeed true."

"It is a very positive development that hopefully would enable to go back to the peace track," Garcia said.

But Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said MILF violence during the ceasefire was proof that the guerrilla leadership "cannot discipline their own forces in the field."

Bunye said the government was still hopeful that "there will come a day where conditions will be more conducive to the holding of peace talks."

Arroyo has appointed peace adviser Eduardo Ermita to lead talks with the Muslim rebels, Bunye said, without giving a time frame on when talks could resume.

A senior MILF leader, Mohaquer Iqbal, said that the 12,500-strong rebel force would not extend its unilateral ceasefire beyond Thursday, charging that the military was continuing to attack MILF positions.

Arroyo, on a week-long tour of Mindanao, on Wednesday handed out financial assistance to residents of the town of Siocon, raided last month by the MILF. Twenty-eight people died in the melee.

She has placed bounties on the heads of senior MILF leaders and demanded that the group renounce terrorism and disavow ties with extremist groups like the smaller Abu Sayyaf Muslim kidnapping gang, the Jemaah Islamiyah and al-Qaeda, if they want peace talks to proceed. -- AFP