Malaysian peacekeepers began a phased withdrawal from the Philippines' troubled south on Saturday, raising worries that decades of Muslim rebellion in the mainly Catholic nation may resume. Twenty-eight of 41 Malaysian soldiers and police officers were picked up by two army transport planes at three points on the southern island of Mindanao and flown to a base in the Malaysian province of Sabah.
The remnants of the 60-member International Monitoring Team (IMT), including 10 soldiers from Brunei, eight from Libya and a Japanese development worker, were expected to pack their bags and go home by the end of August.
Major-General Yasin Mat Daud, head of the Malaysian-led IMT, said the team had laid the foundation for peace to take root in the Philippines' most resource-rich region, holding the cease-fire between security forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas since 2004.
"We have mixed feelings about leaving Mindanao," Yasin told Reuters, watching soldiers file into the belly of one of two twin-engine Casa-235 transporters while Filipino troops helped load equipment into another plane. "We're happy because we're returning to our families, but, we're also sad because we're leaving behind an unfinished dream. We're still hoping to see the government and the MILF sign a peace treaty soon. That's also our dream."
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