Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Participant in Moro conflict
Flag of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Active	1978 – March 27, 2014 (As a fighting force)
Ideology	Islamic democracy
Leaders	Al-Hadj Murad Ibrahim (current), Sheikh Hashim Salamat (former)
Headquarters	Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao
Area of operations	Mindanao, Philippines

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; Arabic: جبهة تحرير مورو الإسلامية‎‎ Jabhat Tahrīr Moro al-ʿIslāmiyyah) is a group based in Mindanao, Philippines seeking an autonomous region of 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 Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is a Moro and Lumad group formed in the 1960s following the alleged Jabidah massacre to achieve greater Bangsamoro autonomy in the southern Philippines. The MNLF took part in terrorist attacks 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.

The signing of this agreement brought about a serious rift in MNLF leadership, leading to the formation of a breakaway group in 1977 by Hashim Salamat and 57 MNLF officers. The group was initially known as "The New Leadership". Misuari expelled Salamat in December 1977, after which Salamat moved his new organization first to Cairo, Egypt and then, in 1980, to Lahore, Pakistan, where it engaged in diplomatic activities. This organization was formally established in 1984 as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Muammar Gaddafi became a longstanding supporter of the MILF after its emergence.