Thousands flee as fighting erupts in Maguindanao del Sur

DISPLACED Residents of Barangay Dalgan in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur, in this photo on Monday, are forced to stay in a government shelter after they fled from their homes as fighting raged in their village in the past four days. —PHOTO FROM THE PAGALUNGAN MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

PAGALUNGAN, Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines — Up to 1,000 families, or some 5,000 people, were now displaced by clashes in the marshland communities of this town and neighboring areas since Thursday last week, local authorities said.

The fighting mainly involved gunmen affiliated with the Daulah Islamiyah (DI), which has links to the transnational terrorist network Islamic State (IS), and the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who are backed by the Philippine Army.

“These civilians are temporarily staying in nearby villages and are still afraid to return home,” said Pagalungan Vice Mayor Abdillah Mamasabulod on Tuesday.

“We are attending to the needs of affected families, and we are waiting for a go-signal from the military so we can bring the evacuees back to their homes,” he added.

Army ‘crusader’

On Monday, classes were suspended indefinitely in Barangay Dalgan, the center of the clashes, and in nearby villages to ensure the safety of the students, according to Mamasabulod.

The fighting erupted when DI gunmen killed a certain Kagi Samsudin and his 1-year-old daughter in Dalgan, Mamasabulod recalled.

The Islamic State East Asia Province (ISEAP) had claimed responsibility for the attack in Dalgan. Although it did not name Samsudin, the ISEAP announcement over social media app Telegram only described its victim as a “spy for the crusader Philippine Army.”

ISEAP said its forces carried out the attack in Dalgan on Dec. 5, based on the information captured by the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor of the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Several days prior to the killing of Samsudin, government troops raided a DI lair in Datu Hoffer town, killing 20 of its gunmen, among whom were top leaders of the group, the Army has claimed.

The MILF’s armed wing, now allied with government law enforcement units, is currently in the process of being decommissioned in keeping with a landmark peace deal it signed with the government in 2014. Some MILF members have also been accepted into the Philippine National Police.

But even prior to that, the MILF had cooperated with government soldiers in running after local terrorists, whether they be affiliated with al-Qaida or the IS.

Abdulmalik Calimbo, an MILF field commander, told reporters the DI gunmen, numbering around 40, swooped into Dalgan village.

To the rescue

Samsudin’s relatives, who are MILF members, pursued the DI gunmen deep into the marshland, but they were ambushed by the terrorists, sparking a gunfight that would last for days, according to member of parliament Akmad Abas, known as Commander Jack, who heads a front command that encompasses Pagalungan.

The Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade (602 IB) came to the MILF’s rescue, launching air and artillery attacks against DI positions.

At least 22 people have been killed in the clashes; 11 DI gunmen, 9 MILF members and two civilians.

On Monday, the MILF retrieved their fallen comrades from the marshland and immediately buried them according to Islamic tradition, said Dalgan Barangay Captain Datu Edu Dalga.

“The IS (affiliates) are no longer there in Barangay Dalgan,” Mamasabulod said, citing information from village officials. But Capt. Dexter Ruma, civil-military operations chief of the 602 IB, said clearing operations were ongoing in other marshland communities.

He vowed that military operations against the DI in the villages around the vast Ligawasan Marsh would continue even during the Christmas holidays.