The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on March 27 signed a historic peace agreement in Manila, the country’s capital, in an effort to end a conflict that has split the country for decades. The agreement represents the culmination of diplomatic efforts aimed at ending a 40-year conflict in Mindanao, home to much of the country’s Muslim minority, that has left at least 120,000 people dead, most of them civilians.
More than a thousand people filled the tent set up on Malacanang Palace grounds while hundreds of Muslim groups gathered in Quiapo – the Muslim area in the country’s capital – in anticipation of the historic event. The agreement will give greater autonomy to the regional government in predominantly Muslim Bangsamoro, in the south of Mindanao.