| Manili massacre | |
| Partof: | the Moro conflict |
| Location: | Manili, Carmen, North Cotabato, Philippines |
| Target: | Filipino Muslims |
| Date: | June 19, 1971 |
| Timezone: | UTC +8 |
| Type: | Mass shooting |
| Fatalities: | 70[1] |
| Injuries: | 17 |
| Perps: | Ilaga |
| Weapons: | Small arms, hand grenade, bladed weapons |
| Motive: | Revenge killing in retaliation for purported killing of Christians in earlier incidents |
The Manili massacre refers to the mass murder of 70 Moro Muslims, including women and children, committed in a mosque in Manili, Carmen, North Cotabato, Philippines on June 19, 1971.[2] [3] The Muslim residents of the town had gathered in their mosque to participate in a supposed peace talk with Christian groups when a group of armed men dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by members of the Philippine Constabulary opened fire on them.[3]
It was suspected that the Ilaga militant group were the attack's perpetrators,[1] but there were also allegations that the Philippine Constabulary had collaborated with the Ilaga. No one was found culpable for the incident; Feliciano Lucas, also known as "Commander Toothpick", the Ilaga leader who was the prime suspect in the crime, was released after he "surrendered" to Ferdinand Marcos at the Malacañang Palace.[1] The incident resulted in increased hostilities between Moro Muslims and Christians.[4] In response to the incident, former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi provided military aid to the secessionist group Moro National Liberation Front.[4] [5]