The two parties reached a ceasefire agreement just days before President Arroyo's July 2009 visit to Washington, however, ending a year of intense fighting in central Mindanao, and laying the groundwork for a full resuscitation of peace talks. The ceasefire enabled thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their homes. By 2010 the MILF was increasingly concerned about the government's ability to negotiate an interim peace agreement because of its poor leadership and "phobic" unwillingness to acknowledge points from the defunct 2008 territorial agreement.