| Moro conflict | ||||||||||
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| Part of theCold War,Civil conflict in the Philippines,War on terror,North Borneo dispute andWar against the Islamic State | ||||||||||
 Map of Moro insurgent camps in Mindanao at the time of the 2014 ceasefire | ||||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||||
Pro-government paramilitaries Pro-Philippines government support
| Bangsamoro Pro-Moro support | Jihadist groups | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
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| Strength | ||||||||||
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| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
| Total killed: c. 100,000 Total displaced: 2,000,000+ displaced (1970–2011)[16][17] or 3,500,000+ displaced (2000–2014)[18] | ||||||||||
| Timeline of the conflict:Timeline | ||||||||||
TheMoro conflict[19][20][21] was an insurgency in theMindanao region in southernPhilippines which involved multiple armed groups.[22][11] Adecades-long peace process[19][23] has resulted in peace deals between thePhilippines government and two major armed groups, theMoro National Liberation Front (MNLF)[24] and theMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),[25] but other smaller armed groups continue to exist. In 2017, the peace council settled around 138 clan conflicts.[26]
The root cause of the Moro conflict is associated in a long history of resistance by theMoro people against foreign rule, for centuries the region was under the control of theSpanish Empire. The U.S. had abrief war with Spain in 1898 which ended in the transfer of the Philippines to the United States, and this led toAmerican occupation until 1946.
During theadministration of PresidentFerdinand Marcos, political tensions and open hostilities developed between the government and Moro rebel groups.[22][27] The Moro insurgency was triggered[28] by the purportedJabidah massacre on March 18, 1968, during which 60 Filipino Muslim commandos on a plannedoperation to reclaim the eastern part of the Malaysian state ofSabah were said to have been killed. as to conserve the secrecy of the operation, the Malaysian government supported and funded the rebels which devastated the southern Philippines, until support ceased in 2001.[29]
Various organizations pushing for Moro self-determination, either through autonomy or independence, were almost immediately formed in response.[30][31] Although these generally did not last long untilUniversity of the Philippines professorNur Misuari established theMoro National Liberation Front (MNLF), an armed insurgent group committed to establishing an independent Mindanao, in 1972. In the following years, the MNLF splintered into several different groups including theMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) founded byHashim Salamat in 1977, which sought to establish an Islamic state within the Philippines.[citation needed] In 1991,Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani gathered radical members of the old MNLF who wanted to resume armed struggle and established theAbu Sayyaf (ASG). When the MILF modified its demands from independence to autonomy, a faction led byAmeril Umbra Kato disagreed, eventually forming theBangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in 2008.[32][33]
Casualty statistics vary for the conflict, though the conservative estimates of theUppsala Conflict Data Program indicate that at least 6,015 people were killed in armed conflict between the government and ASG, BIFF, MILF, MNLF between 1989 and 2012.[34]
TheMoro people have had a history of resistance against foreign rule for more than 400 years. During theSpanish–Moro conflict, Spain repeatedly tried to conquer the MoroSultanate of Sulu,Sultanate of Maguindanao, and the Confederation of sultanates in Lanao like what it did with the former MuslimRajahnate of Maynila (As the Rajah of Manila,Rajah Matanda was a grandson of the Sultan of Brunei, "Sultan Bolkiah" and a Princess of Sulu "Dayang-dayang Laila Machanai"). Although Spain succeeded in supplanting Islam in Manila and Mindoro, they failed against the Muslims in the South. The armed struggle against the Spanish, Americans, Japanese, and Christian Filipinos is considered by current Moro Muslim leaders to be part of a four-century-long "national liberation movement" of the Bangsamoro (Moro Nation).[35]
The foundations of the modern conflict can be traced to the Spanish and American wars against the Moros.[36] Following theSpanish–American War in 1898, another conflict sparked in the southern Philippines between the revolutionaryMuslims in the Philippines and theUnited States military that took place between 1899 and 1913. On August 14, 1898, after defeating Spanish forces, the United States claimed the Philippines as its territory under theTreaty of Paris of 1898, establishing a military government under GeneralWesley Merritt asMilitary Governor.[37] Filipinos immediately opposed foreign rule by the United States.
American forces took control from the Spanish government inJolo on May 18, 1899, and atZamboanga in December 1899.[38] Brigadier GeneralJohn C. Bates was sent to negotiate a treaty with theSultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram II. Kiram was disappointed by the American takeover, as he expected to regain sovereignty after the defeat of Spanish forces in the archipelago. Bates' main goal was to guarantee Moro neutrality in thePhilippine–American War, and to establish order in the southern Philippines. After some negotiation, the Bates Treaty was signed, which was based on an earlier Spanish treaty.[39] The Bates Treaty did ensure the neutrality of the Muslims in the south, but it was actually set up to buy time for the Americans until the war in the north ended.[40][41][42] On March 20, 1900, Bates was replaced by Brigadier GeneralWilliam August Kobbé and the District of Mindanao-Jolo was upgraded to a full department. American forces in Mindanao were reinforced and hostilities with the Moro people lessened, although there are accounts of Americans and other civilians being attacked and slain by Moros.
The American invasion began in 1904 and ended at the term of Major GeneralJohn J. Pershing, the third and final military governor of Moro Province, although major resistance continued inMount Bagsak andBud Dajo inJolo; in the latter, the United States military killed hundreds of Moro in theMoro Crater massacre.[43][44][45][46] After the war, in 1915, the Americans imposed the Carpenter Treaty on Sulu.[47]
Repeated rebellions by the Moros against American rule continued to break out even after the main Moro Rebellion ended, right up to theJapanese occupation of the Philippines duringWorld War II. During the Japanese invasion, the Moroswaged an insurgency against the Japanese on Mindanao and Sulu until Japan surrendered in 1945. MoroJuramentados attacked the Spanish, Americans,Philippine Constabulary, and the Japanese.
TheAmerican colonial government and subsequently thePhilippine government pursued a policy of intra-ethnic migration by resettling significant numbers ofChristian Filipino settlers from theVisayas andLuzon onto tracts of land inMindanao, beginning in the 1920s. This policy allowed Christian Filipinos to outnumber both the Moro andLumad populations by the 1970s, which was a contributing factor in aggravating grievances between the Moro and Filipino Christian settlers as disputes over land increased. Another grievance by the Moro people is the extraction of Mindanao's natural resources by the central government whilst many Moros continued to live in poverty.
Moro Muslims and Lumads were largely supplanted during the Spanish and American colonization programs, with Christian Filipino settlers eventually taking control of key areas along newly built roads and disrupting traditional Moro administrative structures and control over resources. The Americans preferred Christians to become administrators of newly defined townships instead of Lumad and Moro, with environmental degradation resulting from unsustainable population growth (due to the influx of settler migrants) and timber logging.[48]
The active phase of the Moro conflict is attributed to news about theJabidah massacre in March 1968 – towards the end of the first term ofPresidentFerdinand Marcos.[49][50][51] A senate exposé based on the testimony of an alleged survivor claimed that at least 11 Filipino Muslim military trainees had been killed inCorregidor by soldiers of theArmed Forces of the Philippines.[52][24] The trainees had been brought to the island ofCorregidor to form a secretcommando unit called "Jabidah," which would infiltrate, destabilize, and take overSabah for the Sulu Sultan who previously owned it.[53] The trainees eventually rejected their mission, for reasons that are still debated by historians today. A survivor, Jibin Arula, said that whatever the reasons behind their objections, all of the recruits aside from him were killed, and he escaped only by pretending to be dead.[54]
The news created unrest among Filipino Muslims, especially among students.[55] Both Muslim intellectuals and common people suddenly became politicized, discrediting the idea of finding integration and accommodation with the rest of the country, and creating a sense of marginalization.[50][51]
Various organizations pushing for Moro self rule, either through autonomy or independence, were soon formed.Lanao del Sur congressmanHaroun al-Rashid Lucman called forCongress to begin proceedings toimpeach President Marcos, and ended up establishing theBangsamoro Liberation Organization (BMLO) in frustration after the impeachment effort couldn't gather enough congressional support.[56]Cotabato Governor Datu Udtog Matalam[30] established theMuslim Independence Movement (MIM), which openly called for thesecession of the region to create a Muslim state,[57] although it only lasted until Matalam negotiated with Marcos and accepted a post in the administration cabinet.[31]
On October 21, 1972,[31]University of the Philippines professorNur Misuari formed theMoro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which sought the establishment of aMoro republic through the force of arms,[24] attracting many members who broke away from the MIM.[31]
According to the official line of the MNLF, it was founded on an ideology ofegalitarianism, and is thus intended as a secular movement, unlike theMoro Islamic Liberation Front which would later splinter from its ranks in 1978.[58]
From its beginnings in October 1972, the MNLF has had alternating periods of conflict and relative peace with Philippine government forces, until a1996 Final Peace Agreement during the administration of PresidentFidel V. Ramos - although at least one major encounter - theZamboanga City crisis of September 9 to 28, 2013 - took place after this agreement.[59]
During one of the fiercest battles of the insurgency in 1974,Jolo wasextensively damaged and news of the tragedy galvanized otherMuslims around the world to pay greater attention to the conflict. Many civilians were supposedly killed when theArmed Forces razed much ofJolo municipality to the ground in a scorched-earth tactic.[60]
On September 24, 1974, thePhilippine Army killed at least 1,000 Moro civilians who were praying in a mosque in what is known as theMalisbong massacre.[61]
Two years later, the Philippine government and the MNLF signed the Tripoli Agreement, declaring a ceasefire on both sides. The agreement provided that Mindanao would remain a part of the Philippines, but that 13 of its provinces would be governed by anautonomous government for the Bangsamoro people.[24] President Marcos later reneged on the agreement, and violence ensued.
The Communist Party of the Philippines maintained a liaison officer in Tripoli with the MNLF.[62]
The Philippine government allegedly encouraged Christian settlers in Mindanao to form a militia called theIlaga to fight the Moros. The Ilaga engaged in killings and human rights abuses and were responsible for theManili massacre of 65 Moro Muslim civilians in a mosque in June 1971, including women and children.[63] The Ilaga allegedly also engaged in cannibalism, cutting off the body parts of their victims to eat in rituals.[64]
In 1977, Sheikh Salamat Hashim established theMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a splinter group of the MNLF seeking to establish an Islamic state.[65] Conflicts between these rebel groups and theArmed Forces of the Philippines continued until the end of President Marcos' regime. From 1972 to 1980, at least 50,000 people were killed in the conflict, one million people were internally displaced, and more than 100,000 Philippine Muslims fled by boat to Malaysia.[66]
In 1984, Italian Catholic priest Fr D’Ambra began a movement called the Silsilah Dialogue Movement which focuses on formation of people from different religions to encourage understanding and interreligious dialogue in Mindanao. Over time, Fr D’Ambra realised that besides strengthening interreligious ties, the Catholic community also needed a better grounding in the faith, founding the Emmaus Dialogue Movement to address this challenge.[67]
Soon after becomingPresident of the Philippines as a result of the civilian-ledPeople Power Revolution,Corazon Aquino arranged a meeting with the MNLF chairman Nur Misuari and several MNLF rebel groups inSulu, which paved the way for a series of negotiations.[68]
In 1989, theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created under Republic Act No. 6734 or the ARMM Organic Act, pursuant to the1987 Constitution.[69]
Under thePresidency ofFidel V. Ramos, several negotiations and peace talks[27] were held and the ARMM solidified and was to have its own geopolitical system.[24]
On 9–11 December 1997 the MNLF brought the pagan indigenous Lumad leader Mai Tuan to Tehran to attend the eight OIC Islamic Summit Conference.[70]
In 1991, Abdurajak Janjalani, a former teacher who had studiedIslam in theMiddle East, formed theAbu Sayyaf Group after reportedly meetingOsama bin Laden inAfghanistan in the 1980s. Janjalani recruited former members of the MNLF for the more radical and theocratic Abu Sayyaf.[24]
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During his term, PresidentJoseph Ejercito Estrada declared an "all-out war" against theMILF on March 21, 2000, although a series of negotiations for cessation of hostilities were held.[65] Apparently, several conflicts in and around Mindanao erupted and clashes between thePhilippine military and the rebel groups resulted in substantial loss of life.
During Estrada's term, the rebel groups kidnapped threeItalian priests, two of whom were later released and one shot dead;[71][72] seized the municipal hall ofTalayan,Maguindanao, andKauswagan,Lanao del Norte; bombed the RORO ferry M/VOur Lady of Mediatrix atOzamiz; and took over Narciso Ramos Highway. All these incidents resulted in massive loss of investments abroad, especially in the area of Mindanao.
As a result, theArmed Forces of the Philippines launched a successful campaign against the rebel groups; 43 minor camps, 13 major camps including the MILF headquarters, and Camp Abubakar[73] fell. The MILF suffered heavy losses and the head of the MILF, Sheikh Salamat Hashim, fled the country and sought refuge inMalaysia. On October 5, 2000, 609 rebels surrendered inCagayan de Oro, along with renegade town mayor Mulapandi Cosain Sarip.[74] This was followed by another surrender of 855 rebels on December 29, 2000. President Estrada then ordered that thePhilippine flag be raised in Mindanao, which symbolized victory. It was raised on July 9, 2000, near aMadh'hab and again the next day for President Estrada, who held a feast inside a classroom just meters away from a mosque.[73]
As a result, several Islamic rebel groups retaliated,bombing several key locations within theNational Capital Region on December 30, 2000, resulting in 22 deaths and hundreds of people injured. Saifullah Yunos, one of the perpetrators, was arrested inCagayan de Oro as he was about to board a plane bound for Manila in May 2003.[75] In 2004, two members of theJemaah Islamiyah were arrested, namely Mamasao Naga and Abdul Pata, as they were identified byFathur Rahman al-Ghozi as responsible for the train bombing.[76] Al-Ghozi was also arrested, but was later killed in a firefight when he tried to escape from prison on October 13, 2003.
On May 27, 2001, the Abu Sayyafseized twenty hostages from an upscale resort inPalawan. Four of the hostages managed to escape.[77] The kidnapping group composed of 40 gunmen then seized the Dr. Jose Torres Memorial Hospital and St. Peter's Church compound in the town ofLamitan inBasilan[78] and claimed to have taken captive 200 people, although 20 people were confirmed to be taken captive inside the hospital, including the staff and the patients.[79][80]
There was a crossfire between the Philippine Army andAbu Sayyaf rebels inLamitan following the hospital takeover which resulted in the deaths of 12 soldiers, including the army captain.[80] Up to 22 soldiers were reportedly killed in an effort to rescue the hostages.
Five more captives escaped during the battle at Lamitan. Two of the captives were killed prior to the siege in Lamitan, including one beheading.[77] The Abu Sayyaf then conducted aseries of raids, including one at a coconut plantation[81] where the rebel groups hacked the heads of two men usingbolo knives. The owners and a security guard were also held captive and the rebel groups burned down two buildings, including achapel, a week after the battle inLamitan.[81] Another raid was conducted on August 2, 2001, on Barangay Balobo inLamitan,Basilan. After three days, the Philippine Army rescued numerous hostages[82] after they overtook the hideout of the militants, where 11 bodies were found beheaded.[83] Other hostages were either released or had escaped.[82]
On June 13, 2001, the number of hostages was calculated at around 28, as three more people were found beheaded inBasilan,[84] including Guillermo Sobero.[85] They were beheaded since the Philippine Army would not halt the rescue operation.[85]
The Burnhams were still in the group of 14 still held captive, according to three hostages who escaped in October 2001.[85] On June 7, 2002, after a year of the hostages being held captive, a rescue mission was conducted resulting in the deaths of Martin Burnham and a nurse named Ediborah Yap[86] after they were caught in the crossfire. Martin was killed by three gunshots to the chest while Gracia Burnham was wounded in her right leg. By this time Nur Misuari ordered his supporters to attack government targets to prevent theholding of elections on ARMM in November 2001, ushering his exit as the governor of the region.[24] Misuari would be later arrested in 2007 inMalaysia and was deported back to the Philippines for trial.[24]
In July 2004, Gracia Burnham testified at a trial of eight Abu Sayyaf members, identifying six of the suspects as being her former captors, including Alhamzer Limbong, Abdul Azan Diamla, Abu Khari Moctar, Bas Ishmael, Alzen Jandul and Dazid Baize. Fourteen Abu Sayyaf members were sentenced tolife imprisonment while four wereacquitted. Alhamzer Limbong was later killed in aprison uprising.[87]
These rebel groups, especially theAbu Sayyaf, conducted several terror attacks, namely thebombings at Zamboanga in October 2002; thebombing of SuperFerry 14 in February 2004; thesimultaneous bombings in Central Mindanao in October 2006; thebeheadings of several Philippine Marines in July 2007; theBatasang Pambansa bombing in November 2007; and the 2009bombings in Mindanao.
One thousandMILF rebels under the command ofUmbra Kato have seized control of thirty-five villages in theCotabato province. Two thousand Philippine troops with helicopters and artillery were sent into the seized area on August 9 to liberate it from the rebels. The MILF had wanted Cotabato to be included in theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The government and MILF had been negotiating for the inclusion of the province in the Muslim Autonomous Region but theSupreme Court had struck down the proposal after hearing concerns from local Christian leaders in the region.
The rebel troops were ordered to leave the area by their commanders, but the contingents under Kato refused to leave the villages they had occupied and instead dug in. The Philippine Army responded on August 9 by bombarding them. The next day, the government forces moved to retake the villages, recapturing two of them from the rebels.[88][89]
Numerous clashes erupted between the Philippine Army and rebel groups, such as the clash on June 14, 2009, that killed 10 rebels.[90]
Between 2002 and 2015, the Philippines and theUnited States were part of a joint military campaign against Islamist terrorism known asOperation Enduring Freedom – Philippines.[91] This was part of thewar on terror.
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During the term ofPresidentBenigno Aquino III, a series of peace talks for the cessation of hostilities was held, including the meeting ofMILF Chair Al Haj Murad Ibrahim inTokyo,Japan which was lauded on both sides.[24]Norway also joined theInternational Monitoring Team (IMT) in January 2011, overseeing the ceasefire agreement between the government and MILF onMindanao. Despite the peace talks, a series of conflicts erupted. On September 10, 2011, Jal Idris, a hardcore member of Abu Sayyaf, was arrested by government forces after a crossfire between thePhilippine Army and the rebel group[92] TheArmed Forces of the Philippines also killed three Abu Sayyaf militants in a stand-off[93] the day after the arrest of Jal Idris.
Terrorism continued throughout President Aquino's term. Notable cases include when four merchants and a guide were killed by Abu Sayyaf bandits in January 2011.[94] Later a soldier was killed in a clash against the rebels.[95] In August 2011, rebel factions attacked a village inSulu, killing seven Marines and taking seven civilians captive. They later freed two of the hostages after a ransom was paid.[96] Also, several areas of Mindanao were bombed in August by the government, and a Filipino businesswoman was abducted in September 2011,[97] who was later freed after the three gunmen were gunned down by theArmed Forces of the Philippines.[98]
On October 20, 2011, the MILF was blamed for an attack on 40 government soldiers in the province ofBasilan, which led to the deaths of 19 soldiers and six MILF fighters.[99] This violated the ceasefire agreement between the government and MILF, which caused outrage in the government and led to the continuation of the war againstterrorism in the country.
In February 2013, two main camps of the Abu Sayyaf group were overrun by forces of theMoro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in its latest offensive inPatikul.[100] According to MNLF leader Nur Misuari, the MNLF offensive against the Abu Sayyaf is because of the MNLF opposition to the Abu Sayyaf's human rights abuses, which go againstIslam.
TheZamboanga City crisis erupted on September 9, 2013, when a MNLF faction known by other groups as the Rogue MNLF Elements (RME), under the Sulu State Revolutionary Command (SSRC), led by Ustadz Habier Malik and Khaid Ajibon attempted to raise the flag of the self-proclaimedBangsamoro Republik atZamboanga City Hall (which had earlier declared its independence on August 12, 2013, in Talipao, Sulu), and took civilians hostage. This armed incursion was met by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), which sought to free the hostages and expel the MNLF from the city. The standoff degenerated into urban warfare, and had brought parts of the city under a standstill for days. On September 28, the government declared the end of military operations in Zamboanga City after successfully defeating the MNLF and rescuing all the hostages.
On January 24, 2014, the Philippines government chief negotiatorMiriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF chief negotiatorMurad Ebrahim signed a peace agreement inKuala Lumpur. The agreement would pave the way for the creation of the new Muslim autonomous entity called "Bangsamoro" under a law to be approved by the Philippine Congress.[101] The government aims to set up the region by 2016. The agreement calls for Muslim self-rule in parts of the southern Philippines in exchange for a deactivation of rebel forces by the MILF. MILF forces would turn over their firearms to a third party to be selected by the MILF and the Philippine government. A regional police force would be established, and the Philippine military would reduce the presence of troops and help disband private armies in the area.[25] On March 27, 2014, the peace process concluded with the signing of theComprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between theGovernment of the Philippines and theMoro Islamic Liberation Front.
The New York Times claimed that thepeace deal between the Philippines and MILF "seeks to bring prosperity to the restive south and weaken the appeal of the extremist groups", and linked the winding down ofan American military counterterrorism operation to increased American military cooperation with the Philippines against China.[102]The New York Times hailed Mr Aquino's peace agreement as an "accomplishment" as it reported on Aquino raising the alarm on China in the South China Sea.[103]The New York Times editorial board published an article siding with the Philippines against China in the South China Sea dispute and supporting the Philippines' actions against China.[104][105]The New York Times editorial board endorsed aggressive American military action against China in the South China Sea.[106][107]
On July 23, 2014,Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon swore loyalty toAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a video, along with the rest of the organization, giving theIslamic State (known as ISIL and ISIS) a presence in the Philippines.[108][4] In September 2014, the group began kidnapping people to ransom, in the name of ISIL.[109]
On January 25, 2015, the Philippine National Police'sSpecial Action Force (SAF) conductedan operation to captureAbdul Basit Usman and the Malaysian terrorist leaderMarwan inMamasapano, Maguindanao. They were trapped between theMILF's 105th Base Command, the BIFF, and several armed groups. Forty four SAF members were killed on what is known as theMamasapano clash, but they were able to eliminate Marwan. Alleged United States involvement in the botched operation would likely be a setback for a so-called Asian "pivot" by theUnited States Armed Forces.[110]
In February 2015, the BIFF unsuccessfully fought for territory in the boundary ofMaguindanao andCotabato provinces. Subsequently, the Philippine Army, along with the Philippine Marines, declared a state of all-out-war against the BIFF. MILF forces were pulled out to prevent them from falling victim to the fighting.[citation needed]
The MILF and MNLF have expressed their commitment to peace and in finally ending the 47-year-old insurgency while the offensive against Abu Sayyaf and other splinter groups have continued, with skirmishes inJolo,Basilan and other parts of Mindanao. Abombing in Davao City in September 2016 killed 15 people.
On May 23, 2017, theMaute groupattacked Marawi, they were led by the Malaysian terrorists. PresidentRodrigo Duterte declaredProclamation No. 216, which placed the whole of Mindanao under a state ofmartial law and suspendedthe writ of habeas corpus. Clashes continued until October 2017 as the battle for Marawi City pitted Islamic militants against the Philippine government forces. Violence was severe. The government used heavy artillery and air strikes to shell Abu Sayyaf and Maute positions while the militant groups resorted to executing captured Christians.[111] In 2018, two bombing incidents involving Abu Sayyaf and theBIFF occurred,one inLamitan,Basilan andtwo separate incidents inIsulan,Sultan Kudarat.
On July 26, 2018, Duterte signed theBangsamoro Organic Law,[112][113] which abolished theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and provided for the basic structure of government for theBangsamoro Autonomous Region, following the agreements set forth in theComprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro peace agreement signed between theGovernment of the Philippines under President Benigno Aquino III and the MILF in 2014.[114] From June 2019[115] to May 2022, as part of the "normalization process" of the Bangsamoro's war-to-peace transition, a total of about 19,200 former MILF combatants and 2,100 weapons weredecommissioned.[116][117]
In May 2020, Philippine media reported on clan warfare that displaced approximately 4,500 civilians from the affected areas. The previous year, there was a bloody clash between two large families, forcing hundreds of people to flee. Inter-clan violence known asrido can be traced back to pre-colonial power struggles between local tribal leaders. The strongmen of the time had significant economic and political power, and enforced that power through their own armed forces (militias).[118]
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In August 2022, two armed Moro group clashed in Cotabato City, forcing hundreds of locals out of the area.[119]
On September 19, 2023, a civilian was hit by a stray bullet and killed in firefights between two rival clans affiliated with the MILF in Barangays Kaya-Kaya and Tukanolocong.[120]
On November 23, 2023, a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was killed while five others were wounded in explosions inCotabato andMaguindanao del Sur.[121]
In 2023, the government declared thatSulu province was free of Abu Sayyaf militants.[122] InBasilan province, the government announced that it would build 39 houses for former Abu Sayyaf members.[123]
In December 2023,ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion that claimed four lives (Mindanao State University bombing).[124]
On January 22, 2025, the Philippine Army were on their way to escort aUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) team when they were attacked by armed men led Najal Buena and Oman Hajal Jali and are allegedly linked to theMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) inSumisip,Basilan,Philippines.[125] The attack occurred in theBangsamoro region which is supervised by a transition government led by the MILF.[126][127] Two soldiers died and twelve were injured. The MILF side sustained two casualties.[128][129] Around 135 families evacuated during the attack. It is considered the most serious breach of theComprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro of 2014.[130]
Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai said Mr Misuari and six of his followers were arrested at 3.30 am on Saturday (1930 GMT Friday) on Jampiras island off Sabah state. Manila had ordered his arrest on charges of instigating a rebellion after the government suspended his governorship of an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao, the ARMM. Although the Philippines has no extradition treaty with Malaysia, the authorities have already made clear that they intend to hand Mr Misuari over to the authorities in Manila as soon as possible. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had said before the arrest that, although his country had provided support to the rebel group in the past in its bid for autonomy, Mr Misuari had not used his powers correctly. "Therefore, we no longer feel responsible to provide him with any assistance," he said.
