The Philippine government says it has reached a preliminary peace deal with Muslim rebels in the country's south, intended to end a decades-long insurrection that has killed more than 120,000 people.

President Benigno Aquino said in a nationally-televised announcement Sunday that the deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front – or MILF – will be signed in a few days in the capital, Manila.

Officials said the agreement sets up the extent of power, revenues and territory in the south, creating a new Muslim autonomous region called the “Bangsamoro.”

The framework, negotiated with MILF rebels in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur last week, sets up a 15-member Transition Commission, which has until 2015 to draft laws setting up the new region.

Four decades of deadly fighting in the south has prevented development in the region.