In Cotabato, over 300 families flee homes as MILF leaders clash

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COTABATO CITY — An infighting between two Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders in Pigcawayan, Cotabato, has displaced more than 300 families or about 1,500 individuals, late on Wednesday, local officials said.

Pigcawayan Mayor Juanito Agustin said the displaced families left their homes after a gunfight erupted between members of two MILF base commands around 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the village of Banucagon.

READ: 3 killed as MILF, gov’t troops clash in Basilan

The evacuees, mostly Moro people, are now housed at the town’s municipal gymnasium and are being attended to by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD), the mayor said.

Agustin, however, could not yet identify the Moro leaders involved in the conflict. He said villagers told him that the warring families both belonged to the MILF’s base commands.

All of the affected families came from Barangay Banucagon. While some of them stayed at the town gymnasium, others opted to join their relatives in nearby communities.

READ: Ex-MILF men clash in Maguindanao Sur, Cotabato; 9 dead

Agustin said the town’s MSWD office had prepared food packs for the displaced families. Some of them started to return home in the daytime, only to return to the town center at night to ensure that they were safe.

Emissaries

The mayor’s office had coordinated with the leadership of the MILF after villagers reported that two MILF groups, which were locked in “rido” (family feud), were involved in the skirmishes.

As of Thursday, no gunfire was heard in the village, as government troops were already in the area to prevent warring families from resuming the firefight.

Reports said emissaries of the MILF were also in the village to pacify the families involved.

Earlier this month, at least 8,000 people were displaced in Maguindanao del Sur province following clashes between members of the MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), local government reports said.

The firefight that erupted on April 8 at Barangay Dasikil in Mamasapano town was the latest in the recurring conflict between leaders of the MILF 118th Base Command and the BIFF. —EDWIN O. FERNANDEZ