Manila  - The Philippines' chief peace negotiator with Muslim separatist rebels on Sunday urged the guerrillas and government security forces to practice "self restraint" and avoid armed clashes during Islam's holy month of Ramadan.

Rafael Seguis said he also hoped that the military, the police and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would observe a ceasefire in the southern region of Mindanao to boost efforts to resume stalled peace talks.

"I hope that with the advent of this holy month, we can all learn to observe self restraint and generosity that would lead to understanding and ending the conflict in Mindanao," Seguis said.

"May the armed forces of the Philippines, the Philippine national police and the MILF faithfully observe their respective declarations for suspension of military operations so we can successfully move forward with the peace talks," he added.

The Malaysia-brokered peace talks collapsed in August 2008 after the government junked a key territory agreement due to mounting opposition to it, prompting MILF rebels to launch deadly attacks in Mindanao.

More than 300 people were killed in the rebel attacks and subsequent fighting between the MILF guerrillas and the military. More than 500,000 people were also displaced at the height of the fighting.

Last month, Philippine and MILF rebel negotiators met in Kuala Lumpur for talks mediated by Malaysian officials and agreed to work for the resumption of formal peace negotiations sometime in September or October. (dpa)