3 Moro rebels slain in clash over agri land

COTABATO CITY—Three Moro rebels were killed as they clashed on Saturday with followers of a village chair in North Cotabato and sent about 500 families fleeing, the military here said.

Lieutenant Colonel Roy Galido, 40th Infantry Battalion commanding officer, said the armed hostilities started when Abas Kudanding, a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander, and his men attacked the group of Renz Tukuran, village chair of Lumopog in Midsayap town, that triggered a running gun battle.

Kudanding belonged to the MILF’s 105th base command.

The protagonists have  been locked in a family feud over agricultural lands in  Lumupog.

Galido said barangay officials reported that three of Kudanding’s men were killed in the ensuing skirmishes. A follower of Tukuran was slightly wounded in the firefight.

Galid said he alerted the government and MILF ceasefire panel to intervene as both sides were heavily armed.

Maj. Gen. Rey Ardo, 6th Infantry Division chief and former head of the government’s ceasefire panel, said he had ordered the repositioning of Army troops and urged the ceasefire panel to convince warring groups to reposition too so relief aid workers could come in. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao