SUMMARY

The outbreak of sectarian violence in the Mindanao area of the Philippines can be traced to a number of interconnected factors. On one hand, by the early 1990s the region had been, for more than 20 years, the scene of a long-running conflict between the Government of Philippines and a number of mainly Muslim groups demanding autonomy or independence of Mindanao. These groups, MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) and MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), through their stated pro-Muslim goals and mainly Muslim membership, helped establish a set of sectarian prejudices within Mindanao while creating a tense atmosphere in the province. On the other hand, sectarian tensions within Mindanao were amplified by long-running land conflicts between Christian migrants and native Moro Muslims, going as far back as the Colonial Era. Further, Mindanao was by far the poorest region of the Philippines, with many Muslims blaming the (mostly Christian) central government of economically and politically marginalizing them.

Most sectarian fighting between Christians (Philippines) and Muslims (Philippines) took the form of small-scale violence inflicted either as disputes over land or acts of revenge over long-running vendettas. Tactics employed were relatively simple, mostly involving assaults perpetrated by gangs of villagers wielding machetes or various firearms. Further, while more organized groups such as MILF or MNLF were active in the areas where sectarian violence occurred, there is no evidence of any linkages between them and the participants in sectarian violence.

The non-state conflict between the Christians (Philippines) and Muslims (Philippines) of the Philippines is first included in UCDP data in 1993. By October of that year, clashes in various parts of Mindanao had resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.