MANILA, Philippines--The ongoing military offensive in Mindanao has affected more than 240,000 people in Mindanao as the death toll rose to 49 and 65 others were reported injured, latest data provided by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) show.

Of the affected individuals from North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a total of 35,034 families or 175,530 people were displaced from their homes, the country's disaster agency said as of Sunday.

Of the figure, 14,970 families or 75,210 people are now staying in 104 evacuation centers since fighting began in North Cotabato where the 105th Base Command of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under Commander Ombra Kato forcibly took over several villages in 15 towns.

More than 100,000, however, preferred to stay outside the evacuation centers, many of whom have been living with relatives, the NDCC said.

The NDCC counted 66 evacuation centers housing 23,595 people in North Cotabato; in ARMM, 30,964 people in three different evacuation centers; and in Lanao del Norte, 36 evacuation centers for 20,651 people.

Dr. Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesperson and deputy NDCC executive director, explained that those "affected" by the fighting were not only displaced from their homes but they also lost properties and livelihood.

"Some of them had their homes ransacked or damaged, they lost their livestock, or their businesses were affected," Golez told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview

The majority of the "affected" people, some 87,000 of them, came from North Cotabato while 63,000 affected people were in ARMM, half of whom were from Maguindanao.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) earlier said that most of its targets in Maguindanao, a stronghold of the MILF and where Kato has been hiding, were near villages.

It acknowledged that the military's offensive which included artillery and air bombardments has been sending residents fleeing to evacuation centers.

Among the fatalities, the NDCC said that eight were from North Cotabato, three in ARMM, two in Saranggani and 38 in Lanao del Norte, particularly in the towns of Kolambugan and Kauswagan.

Almost all the fatalities died from gunshot wounds, especially in the Lanao del Norte towns where the MILF 102nd Base Command led by Abdurahman Macapaar alias Commander Bravo went on a rampage last August 18.

The AFP said that 13 soldiers and four militiamen had been killed while 62 soldiers and two militiamen were injured, mostly from ambuscades launched by the MILF.

The NDCC listed seven soldiers, including Army Lt. Col. Angel Benitez, killed since fighting erupted in North Cotabato last August 10.

The NDCC also included in its list of fatalities an MILF fighter identified as Tapkia Said of Barangay Gayunga of North Kabuntalan who was killed in Shariff Kabunsuan.