DHAKA: The Philippines and Muslim rebels are to sign a treaty on March 27 to end one of Asia’s longest and deadliest rebellions.

A senior aide to Philippines president Benigno Aquino said on Friday, reports The Straits Times.

The terms of the deal, completed in January after drawn-out talks, would see the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) disband its 12,000-member guerrilla force and share power with Manila in the Muslim south of the mainly Catholic nation.

‘After 17 long years of arduous negotiations, we are finally arriving at a political settlement that will seal enduring peace and progress in Mindanao,’ Teresita Deles, Aquino’s chief adviser on the peace process, said in a statement.

‘The signing... is expected to benefit not only the Bangsamoro (Filipino Muslims) but the entire country, and will radiate beyond our borders to the regional community, and perhaps the whole world,’ Deles said.

BDST: 1810 HRS, MAR 14, 2014