Increased Fighting in the Philippines Causing Displacement

Fighting between government forces and Islamic separatists in the southern Philippines has escalated over the past week and the number displaced reached 130,000. Fighting began as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which had been confined to two provinces, threatened to spill over to other areas. The Philippine Supreme Court ruled in favor of a petition that prevented the government and the rebel group from signing an agreement that both sides had thought could help end the decades-old separatist war.