Handout photo by Malacanang Photo Bureau on February 11, 2013 shows President Benigno Aquino (R) shaking hands with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace panel in Sultan Kudarat, Philippines
Manila (AFP) - The biggest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines will sign a peace deal on Thursday aimed at ending four decades of deadly conflict that has condemned millions in the nation's far south to brutal poverty.
The agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and President Benigno Aquino's government envisages a new, southern autonomous region for the Philippines' Muslim minority with locally elected leaders by mid-2016.
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