Manila: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) dismissed a newspaper report saying that its leader, Murad Ebrahim, had suffered a serious medical emergency and that the group has split into two factions.
Mohammad Ameen, chief of the MILF Secretariat, said there is no truth to a report published by the Philippine Star last Friday saying that MILF Chairman Murad Ebrahim had recently suffered a heart attack and is recuperating at a hospital in Sendakan, in Sabah, Malaysia.
Murad is "well strong and healthy," Ameen said in a statement posted on the MILF website.
Pilgrimage
To prove the MILF chief's good state of health, Murad even performed the Haj last month (November).
The report said that after Murad's trip to Geneva, Switzerland on September 23 to 28, where he and MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal attended a conference, the MILF chairman proceeded to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
The state of health of the MILF leader has been a frequent subject of speculation. Last July rumours were rife that Murad had already died or was seriously ill.
However, these turned out untrue as the MILF chief personally gave a press briefing to a group of reporters in Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao in August.
