MANILA - THE Philippine government is to do more to ease the plight of 250,000 people displaced by fighting in the restive south, President Gloria Arroyo said on Friday.

The social welfare department estimates at least 50,000 families, or 250,000 people, remain in evacuation camps run by the government and aid agencies nearly a year after an upsurge in hostilities between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels.

Many of the displaced rely on food aid, a service led by United Nations agencies that was briefly disrupted last week after a series of deadly bombings across the Mindanao region that was blamed on hardline MILF factions.

'In anticipation of the resumption of peace talks (with the MILF) I have created a task force for central Mindanao,' Mrs Arroyo told government television in an interview.

The task force would ensure the health, educational and livelihood needs of 'our internally displaced population' are taken care of, she added.

Mrs Arroyo said liaison teams from the government and the MILF were attempting to lay the ground for the resumption of peace talks 'hopefully in a short period of time' with the help of the Islamic bloc, particularly Malaysia and Egypt.

She added that there was 'a very good prospect' for negotiations with the communist guerrillas, who also operate in Mindanao, to resume soon, 'hopefully this August'.

The government shelved peace talks with the MILF in August last year after hardline factions sacked a string of Christian settler villages across Mindanao, killing dozens of civilians and displacing up to half a million people at one point. -- AFP