The [Moro Islamic Liberation Front], or [MILF], is an [Islamic] fundamentalist group fighting for the [secession] of the [Muslim] lands of the southern [Philippines] and the establishment of an [Islamic] state. It was founded (and is still led) by [Hashim Salamat] when he split from [Nur Misuari]'s [Moro National Liberation Front] (MNLF) in 1977. Mostly consisting of ethnic [Maguindanaw] troops, they currently field anywhere from 3,000-5,000 men.

The [MILF] initially pursued a more moderate and conciliatory approach to the government during the [Ferdinand Marcos|Marcos], [Corazon Aquino|Aquino] and [Fidel Ramos|Ramos] administrations, aside from a brief offensive during the 1987 MNLF signing of the ARMM agreement that was ended with a truce within a month.

The [MILF] took a decidedly more [militant] stance versus [Joseph Estrada]'s government. Some analysts say [Joseph Estrada|Estrada] used the [Abu Sayyaf] [Sipadan] incident as a pretense to declare "total war" upon the MILF in 2000; for nearly a year, the military conducted an all-out assault on the MILF camps, primarily [Camp Abubakar]. This only stopped when [Gloria Macapagal Arroyo|Arroyo] assumed control of the government in January 2001 and declared a cessation of all hostilities with the beginning of new peace talks.

Even with [EDSA|Estrada's ouster], the MILF is still wary of trusting the military; while [Camp Abubakar] has been returned to their control, sporadic firefights still break out between MILF units and military elements that have "strayed" over the line. They seem to support the [Gloria Macapagal Arroyo|Arroyo] government to some degree, even declaring that they would not support the rogue [Abu Sayyaf] group in any way.

Some facts checked from www.fas.org, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and local news broadcasts.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (thing)