(IRIN) – Two months after renegade Muslim militants opposed to efforts by the Philippine government to end a decades-long rebellion laid siege to the southern city of Zamboanga, traumatized children are learning to laugh again. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) attacked several villages in Zamboanga city, a major port in the Mindanao region that is home to about a million people. The attack was apparently carried out to sabotage peace talks between the government and a splinter group aimed at putting a stop to decades of insurgency that has left an estimated 150,000 people dead and plunged the mineral-rich south into deep poverty.
In crowded Philippine IDP camp, children learn to smile again
New York, NY 10168
watchlist@watchlist.org
Watchlist is a fiscally sponsored project of United Charitable, a US-based 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
