The
Moro Conflict is an ongoing insurgency in
Mindanao. In 1969, political tensions and open hostilities developed between the
Government of the Philippines and
Moro Muslim rebel groups. The Moro Insurgency was triggered by the
Jabidah massacre, which saw the killing of 60
Filipino Muslim commandos on a planned operation to
reclaim the eastern part of the Malaysian state of
Sabah. In response, the
University of the Philippines professor Nur Misuari established the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), an armed insurgent group that was committed to establishing an independent
Mindanao. Over the successive years, the MNLF splintered into several different groups including the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which wanted to establish an Islamic state within the Philippines. The Moro Insurgency is rooted in a
long history of resistance by the Bangsamoro people against foreign rule, dating back to the American annexation of the Philippines in 1899. Since then, Moro resistance has persisted against the Philippines central government in
Manila.