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CAMP SK PENTADUN, Maguindanao del Norte — Two persons were killed, and four others were injured on Tuesday morning in clashes involving families locked in a long-standing feud due to local politics in Malabang, Lanao del Sur, police said.
Major Salahuddin Basher, Lanao del Sur police spokesperson, said police and military forces have been deployed in the town to prevent the escalation of armed hostilities.
“While efforts are ongoing to normalize the situation, we advised the public to remain in their homes,” Basher said.
The armed hostilities erupted at dawn on Tuesday in the villages of Bacayawan and Tubok, near the Malabang town center. Gunfires are still heard in town as of mid-afternoon.
Major Ivan John Bakian, Malabang police chief, identified the fatalities only as Fajad and Nodin.
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The injured were identified as Ansary Didik, 60, and Hamdanie Ibrahim, 42, both of Barangay Bacayawan; and Esmail Abdul, 53, and Jemar Abdul, 22, both of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte. They are now undergoing medication at a hospital.
The fighting came a week before the filing of certificates of candidacy for local elections.
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