(2000–2010) (2011–present) The 1995 Ipil massacre occurred on the morning of April 4, 1995, in the municipality of Ipil, then in Zamboanga del Sur province of the Philippines, when approximately 200 heavily armed Abu Sayyaf militants[1] fired upon residents, strafed civilian homes, plundered banks, took up to 30 hostages and then burned the center of the town to the ground.

The town's Chief of Police was reportedly killed in the attack and close to a billion pesos were looted from eight commercial banks.

[5] About 40 rebels, who may have taken hostages, were cornered in a school compound west of Ipil on April 6 when an elite army unit attacked.

[8] For instance, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the country's largest and oldest group,[6] had waged an insurrection against the administration of Ferdinand Marcos.

[8] To end the conflict, peace talks between the national government under President Fidel Ramos and the MNLF[6] for a limited regional autonomy[8] was reopened[9] in 1992;[10] and yielded a bilateral ceasefire agreement in 1994.

[9] However, some MNLF members still seeking separatism[10] opted to join Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG; Bearer of the Sword)[11][12]—which was implicated in the incident—a separate movement formed by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani in Basilan, along with some local jihadists.

[11] Military intelligence sources believed that these extremists[7] had been operating since as early as August 1991, carrying out a series of violent activities.

[15] The municipality of Ipil[a] is predominantly Catholic,[16][9] and was once a Muslim majority town prior to migration of people from other areas of the country.

[16] At dawn of April 4, in a diversionary tactic, some of the insurgents attacked the security guards of a gold mine 25 kilometers from the municipality.

[11][16] Col. Roberto Santiago, commander of the Philippine Army's 102nd infantry brigade based nearby,[20] sent 40 soldiers, almost emptying the garrison.

[11] Gunmen, this time in ninja hoods, neckerchiefs,[11] or headbands,[21] fired at the police and army headquarters;[7][21] also, deliberately at people manning the commercial establishments in the town proper,[19] as well as those on streets.

[19][b] At 1:20 p.m., the entire town center was set on fire until being eventually destroyed;[11] apparently to cover their withdrawal and to confuse authorities.

[11] At 2:30 p.m., the attackers assaulted the compound of the district office of the Department of Public Works and Highways,[25] with a gunbattle lasted for half an hour.

[19] The rebels retreated while leaving some dead companions;[19] burned houses, causing residents in villages to flee;[18] and took a number of people hostage.

[19] According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), 22 wounded, mostly caught on crossfire, troops and firemen rushed to the area, were treated in two municipal hospitals.

[11] As the April 4 incident occurred, by 3:00 p.m., a bus company cancelled scheduled trips to Zamboanga del Sur and Iligan.

[37] Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Edgardo Batenga, the newly appointed Southcom chief, dismissed fake news by ASG and MNLF sympathizers on the alleged involvement of the law enforcers.

[28] In particular, both the DILG[11] and Angeles[21] said that the attack was in retaliation for the arrest of six suspected Muslim extremists in Caloocan on April 1[13] for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

[11] The suspects reportedly had links to the group,[21] and were allegedly part of Yousef support network[13] in which two ASG officials who had surrendered in March, as admitted, belonged to.

[9] After government officials admitted failure in intelligence by security forces over the attack,[26] on April 6, Ramos dismissed Brig.

[a][26][38] Five infantry battalions consisting about 3,000 men, along with a Ranger company and special forces' units, were reportedly initially deployed for the manhunt.

[30] According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, as of April 18, some 12,020 individuals or 2,600 families from four towns were displaced as a result of the attack and military operations.

[12] The Criminal Investigation Command filed charges against 20 respondents, with only a policeman and a civilian identified, involved in the raid before the 1st Municipal Circuit Trial Court (Ipil–Tungawan–Roseller T. Lim).

[33] The Western Mindanao Disaster Coordinating Council sought the inclusion of the municipalities of Tungawan[a] and Titay[a] as calamity areas due to damages and displaced residents.

[33] Five years after the massacre, Ipil had been fully rehabilitated, which gave way to the municipality becoming the capital of the new province that would be created out of parts of Zamboanga del Sur.