MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A radical commander says he has split from the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group and has formed a new group that will wage a war for a separate Islamic state.
Ameril Umbra Kato said in a telephone interview Thursday from his jungle hide-out in southern Maguindanao province that he has separated from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which had threatened to expel him.
He says his new group will be called the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Front.
Kato says he left because his former group chose to negotiate with the government for expanded autonomy instead of waging a battle for an independent Muslim homeland
