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COTABATO CITY—Two persons were killed on Tuesday in an infighting among members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao del Sur, officials said.
Police Maj. Michael Ameril, Sultan sa Barongis police chief, said Marhan Sali, commander of the 118th base command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the MILF’s armed wing, was killed in a clash with the group of Ustadz Daya, commander of the 105th base command.
In keeping with a 2014 peace deal with the government, the BIAF is in the process of being decommissioned, including its weapons.
The clash, which occurred at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, was triggered by a long-standing “rido,” or family feud between Sali and Daya, Ameril said.
10-hour firefight
The death of Sali on Tuesday brings to two the fatalities on his family’s side after an unnamed relative was killed on Dec. 14, allegedly by followers of Daya.
Ameril said that a certain Justine Sali, one of Daya’s followers, was also killed during Tuesday’s skirmishes.
Sultan sa Barongis Mayor Allandatu Angas Sr. said the firefight lasted up to 1 p.m. or for about 10 hours, ending only when local Muslim religious leaders intervened.
Police said Sali’s group attacked the group of Daya in Barangay Damabagu on Tuesday, apparently in retaliation for the Dec. 14 killing.“Today’s skirmish was a retaliatory attack,” Ameril said. He noted that Sali’s family signed an affidavit of desistance and refused to file charges against Daya’s group for the death of a relative during the Dec. 14 encounter.
Angas said the town had been tapping the Army, the police and the MILF ceasefire panels to stop the hostilities from escalating.
“We are closely watching the situation on the ground,” Angas said. “We are doing our best to protect the civilians.”
Local government relief workers have prepared food packs for distribution to a number of civilians who fled their homes for fear of getting caught in the crossfire, he added.
Maj. Gen. Roy Galido, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said more soldiers were deployed as peacekeepers in the area to prevent the escalation of hostilities. INQ
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