Manila  - Hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians in the southern Philippines are still at risk of human rights abuses by security forces and Muslim rebels despite efforts to resume stalled peace talks, an international rights group said Tuesday.

Amnesty International said a ceasefire declared by both the Philippine military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last month has not yet improved the plight of thousands of civilians caught in clashes.

The ceasefire was declared as part of efforts to resume peace talks between the MILF and the government, which stalled in August 2008 following a series of deadly attacks by the rebels to protest the non-signing of a key territory agreement.

More than 300 people were killed in the rebel attacks and subsequent fighting with the military, while more than 750,000 people were displaced at the height of the hostilities.

In a report entitled "Shattered Lives, Beyond the 2008-2009 Mindanao Armed Conflict," Amnesty said more than 240,000 people still lived "in fear and uncertainty" in makeshift homes on roadsides and evacuation camps as of the end of July.

The 74-page report detailed the various human rights abuses and the plight of civilians caught in the more than three decades of fighting in the area.

"Their lives shattered by the armed conflict, hundreds of thousands of people face the risk of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, displacement and burning and destruction of their homes at the hands of the Philippine armed forces, MILF fighters and local militias," the report said.

It cited an incident in January when a large group of soldiers swooped down on the farming village of Ungap in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, and arrested 10 men.

"One villager told Amnesty International that the detained men, including her husband, were later given electric shocks. Nine were released but her husband remains in detention," the report said.

In another case in May, around 50 MILF rebels attacked the village of Basak in Lebak town in nearby Sultan Kudarat province, ransacking stores, setting homes on fire and stealing farm animals. The rebels took 20 civilians hostage, who were later released unharmed.

The report noted that the plight of more than 200,000 civilians displaced in the clashes has worsened due to lack of food and basic services in the evacuation centres.

"Unable to tend to their farms, they have become dependent on food rations and other aid," it said. "For many large families food rations are not enough and family members have been forced to go back to their villages to forage for food ... risking their lives in the process."

Donna Guest, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific deputy director, appealed to the government and the MILF to tackle the issue of human rights abuses when they resume peace negotiations.

"The vulnerability and uncertainty which civilians face makes it imperative that the government and the MILF put human rights at the top of their agenda during future peace talks," she said.

"Decades of conflict have inflicted scars on the civilians, who continue to live in fear, not knowing what tomorrow holds," she added. "The recent ceasefire agreement has raised their hopes so the burden is now on the government and the MILF to demonstrate that they are sincere in prioritizing the well-being of the local population."

Amnesty also called on international organizations like the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the European Union to help establish international monitors of human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. (dpa)