Kuala Lumpur: The Philippine government and an Islamic separatist group have agreed to set up a group of international monitors to accelerate efforts toward a peace deal to end a bloody, decades-long rebellion in the south.

The agreement between the Manila government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was signed in Kuala Lumpur late Tuesday following the resumption of peace talks brokered by Malaysia. The text was released to the media Wednesday.

It says the peace monitors known as the International Contact Group would help the two sides "maintain a level of comfort that restores mutual trust" and ensure compliance in any future agreement. Its members will be drawn from countries in the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the European Union as well as non-governmental organisations.

The MILF has been fighting for Muslim self-rule for decades in Mindanao, homeland of minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic Philippines. It is the biggest of at least four Muslim rebel groups that have waged a bloody rebellion in the volatile south.

Manila hailed the step as a "major breakthrough" to move the peace process forward.