Moro conflict
The Moro conflict was an insurgency in the Mindanao region of the Philippines, which involved multiple armed groups. Peace deals have been signed between the Philippine government and two major armed groups, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but other smaller armed groups continue to exist. In 2017, the peace council settled around 138 clan conflicts.
| Moro conflict | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the insurgency in the Philippines, War on terror, North Borneo dispute and War against the Islamic State | ||||||||||
Map of the Philippines showing the still majority Moro Muslim areas in Mindanao | ||||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||||
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Philippines |
1969–2014: Former support: Since 2005: |
from 1991: Maute group (2013–2017) KIM (2011–2013) Rajah Sulaiman Movement (1991–c. 2009) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
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Ferdinand Marcos # (1969–1986) Corazon Aquino # (1986–1992) Fidel Ramos # (1992–1998) Joseph Estrada (1998–2001) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001–2010) Benigno Aquino (2010–2016) Rodrigo Duterte (2016–2019) |
Nur Misuari (1969–1996) Habier Malik † Muslimin Sema (1969–1996) Habib Mujahab Hashim # (1969–1996) Abul Khayr Alonto # (1969–1996) Murad Ebrahim (1977–2014) Hashim Salamat # (1977–2003) Former support: Anwar Sadat X (1969–1981) Muammar Gaddafi X (1969–2011) Mustapha Harun # (1969–1995) |
Radullan Sahiron # Khadaffy Janjalani † Galib Andang † Ameril Umbra Kato # Isnilon Totoni Hapilon † Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan † Omar Maute † Abdullah Maute † | ||||||||
| Strength | ||||||||||
| 125,000–130,000 | 11,000 (2012) | Unspecified | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
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Total killed: c. 100,000 | ||||||||||
The root cause of the Moro conflict is associated in a long history of resistance by the Bangsamoro people against foreign rule, including the American annexation of the Philippines in 1898; Moro resistance against the Philippine government has persisted ever since. During the administration of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, political tensions and open hostilities developed between the Philippine government and Moro Muslim rebel groups. The Moro insurgency was triggered by the purported Jabidah massacre on March 18, 1968, during which 60 Filipino Muslim commandos on a planned operation to reclaim the eastern part of the Malaysian state of Sabah were said to have been killed. As retaliation against the Philippine government's failed attempt at reclaiming Sabah, the Malaysian government supported and funded the Moro conflict which devastated the southern Philippines, until support ceased during the year 2001.
Various organizations pushing for Moro self rule, either through autonomy or independence, were almost immediately formed in response, although these generally did not last long until University of the Philippines professor Nur Misuari established the Moro 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 the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which sought to establish an Islamic state within the Philippines. When the MILF modified its demands from independence to autonomy in the late 2008, a faction led by Ameril Umbra Kato disagreed, eventually forming the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in 2010.
Casualty statistics vary for the conflict, though the conservative estimates of the Uppsala Conflict Data Program indicate that at least 6,015 people were killed in armed conflict between the government of the Philippines and the Abu Sayyaf (ASG), BIFF, MILF, and MNLF factions between 1989 and 2012.