Moro Islamic Liberation Front

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; Arabic: جبهة تحرير مورو الإسلامية, romanized: Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyya) is an Islamist militant group based in Mindanao, Philippines, which split from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1977. It seeks to achieve autonomy for the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan, and other neighbouring islands. The armed wing of the group was the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), although the name of its parent organization, the MILF, was often used to refer to the BIAF.

In July 2018, the Philippine government passed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, giving more autonomy to Muslims. In return, MILF announced that it would disarm its 30,000 fighters.

History

Following the Jabidah massacre in 1968, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was established clandestinely in 1969 by Moro students studying at the University of the Philippines, Egypt, and in the Middle East who sought to create an independent Muslim nation in southern Philippines. The MNLF gained foreign support from Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, which supplied arms and provided training for Moro youths. The MNLF took part in violent acts and assassinations to achieve their goals. The government in Manila sent troops into the southern Philippines to control the insurgency.

In 1976, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi brokered a negotiation between the Philippine government and MNLF Leader Nur Misuari which led to the signing of the MNLF-GRPH Tripoli Agreement of 1976 wherein the MNLF accepted the Philippine government's offer of semi-autonomy of the regions in dispute.