ConflictBarometer_2016

ASIA AND OCEANIA
regard to the general elections taking place in 2017. wih, nro
PHILIPPINES (BIFM, BIFF–MILF, GOVERNMENT)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 2008
Conflict parties:
BIFM, BIFF vs. MILF, government
Conflict items: secession, subnational predominance
area. On August 14, two soldiers, one policeman, and five
BIFF fighters were killed in aconfrontation in Midsayap with
the army using artillery fire. Eight soldiers and five BIFF members
were wounded while several hundred villagers fled the
area. On December 24, the group blocked a highway in Guindulungan,
Maguindanao which resulted in astandoff with the
army.
On December 30, BIFF members attacked an army detachment
in Salibo with automatic guns and shoulder-fired
grenades to avenge the killing of one ofits executive members
a few days earlier. Seven BIFF members were killed and
500 families displaced.
One day later, the group attacked amilitary base in Midsayap,
injuring one civilian. prü
The conflict over secession and subnational predominance
between the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM)
and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), on the
one hand, and the government, partly supported by the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on the other hand, deescalated
toalimited war.
The conflict concentrated on the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) and SOCCSKSARGEN region. Fighting
left 58 BIFF fighters, eight AFP soldiers and one civilian dead,
while 50 AFP soldiers were wounded and more than 8,000
people displaced.
On February 25, MILF offered further help to the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) to fight BIFF, and claimed to mobilize
more than 1,000 fighters for this purpose [→ Philippines
(MILF)]. At the end of July, BIFF split into the Karialan and
Bongos factions over the issue of the group's allegiance to IS
[→Syria, Iraq et al. (IS)]. Another split occurred on October 1,
when five preachers and their followers, all of them former
BIFF members, founded the faction ''Moassesseen'' and allied
with the Islamist Maute Group [→ Philippines (Abu Sayyaf)].
As in previous years, BIFF frequently clashed with AFP soldiers
in Maguindanao and Cotabato provinces, killing BIFF fighters,
as well as security personnel. The militants targeted government
forces using heavy weapons. Violence conducted
by militants repeatedly affected civilians. For instance, from
February 5 to 6, clashes in Datu Salibo, Datu Saudi and Datu
Piang, all in Maguindanao, killed four and wounded seven
BIFF fighters as well as two soldiers, causing around 100 people
to flee the area. In February and March, various clashes
between AFP soldiers and BIFF members occurred in Datu
Salibo region, with BIFF using IEDs and anti-tank missiles.
For example, on February 10, a clash between AFP and BIFF
members left one soldier and four BIFF fighters dead while a
BIFF bomb killed five civilians on the same day. Six days later
six BIFF members were killed and two soldiers wounded in
a similar incident. Power transmission towers were frequent
targets of BIFF attacks. For instance, on March 13, a BIFF member
bombed a power transmission tower in Aleosan, Cotabato.
In the second half of the year, BIFF fighters continued to detonate
IEDs and clashed with AFP forces multiple times, again
in Maguindanao and Cotabato, resulting in casualties and
displacement oflocal residents. In mid-July, a clash between
BIFF and AFP lasting two days left one civilian and eight BIFF
members dead, while seven soldiers and ten BIFF members
were wounded. The incident displaced 500 families in the
160
PHILIPPINES (MILF)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1977
Conflict parties:
MILF vs. Government
Conflict items: autonomy, system/ideology, resources
The conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
and the government over autonomy of the Bangsamoro republic,
encompassing the Philippine islands of Basilan, Mindanao,
Palawan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, as well as over the orientation
of the political system and resources such as gold,
copper, and rubber de-escalated toaviolent crisis.
In January, the government resumed its investigations into
the Mamasapano incident from January 2015. MILF criticized
this step, claiming it would hinder the reconciliation process.
The government and MILF heldaseries of meetings in August
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, renewing their commitment to the
peace process despite the non-passing of the Bangsamoro
Basic Law (BBL).
In July, in the cause of the government's campaign against illegal
drugs, MILF and the government signed an agreement of
cooperation and coordination regarding MILF-controlled areas.
Subsequently, MILF supported the army in anti-narcotic
campaigns. On July 21, an initial meeting between MILF and
the newly inaugurated Duterte administration took place at
Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province. A
day later, Duterte offered autonomous administration of the
proposed Bangsamoro Region to the MILF if all parts the government
deemed unconstitutional were removed from the
BBL. In the course of the year, government and MILF worked
together in the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.
In August, clashes between government forces and MILF fighters,
who at that point had joined the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters (BIFF), raised questions about the government-
MILF anti-crime cooperation pact. [→ Philippines (BIFM, BIFF
– MILF, government)]
On December 8, MILF detained seven ofits members who
were suspected of killing the Vice Mayor of Datu Saudi Ampatuan
town on November 27. The next day, MILF soldiers, as-