MANILA - MAOIST guerrillas murdered 94 civilians in the Philippines in the first 10 months of the year, the government said Friday after a fresh effort to end a decades-old armed communist rebellion collapsed.

The informal talks, hosted by Oslo, unravelled last weekend after the Communist Party of the Philippines and its 5,000-member New People's Army (NPA) rejected a general ceasefire, calling it tantamount to surrender.

A government statement said that 'during a 10-month period from January 1 to October 31, 2008, the NPA conducted 94 summary killings of innocent civilians they perceived as pro-government.'

Over the same period the rebels burned down telecommunications facilities owned by private firms as part of extortion activities on companies and 'even ordinary people,' it added.

Manila said the general ceasefire it sought would have mandated the NPA to stop attacking civilians. The rebels, however, would only agree to ceasefires of short duration, and only during actual negotiations.

President Gloria Arroyo launched a fresh effort to bring a negotiated settlement to the conflict in May, four years after shelving peace. -- AFP