Military statement on Kato gunmen mixing with evacuees worries UNHCR

COTABATO CITY—The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was concerned about a recent military statement that said fleeing gunmen under Ameril Umbra Kato had mixed with evacuees in various evacuation centers in Maguindanao.

Arjun Jain, UNHCR head of office in Mindanao, said in a written statement on Thursday that the military pronouncement worsened the situation of evacuees.

“The situation of these displaced and host communities is becoming more fragile as the conflict continues. The [displaced] are unable to return home safely because of the conflict, especially in Maguindanao. At the same time, they fear that the evacuation centers will become more unsafe as rumors circulate that armed men are staying there,” Jain said.

Earlier, Col. Prudencio Asto, spokesperson of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao, said some members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), who had fled pursuing soldiers after the fall of their camp last week, are now hiding in evacuation centers in the towns of Shariff Aguak, Datu Unsay, Datu Saudi, Datu Hoffer and Ampatuan after they hid their firearms elsewhere.

“Some of them are now in the evacuation centers. But by all means, we will get them to face the consequences of their acts,” Asto said.

Asto added that legitimate evacuees seeking refuge in the said towns had nothing to worry about as the military would be discriminate in its hunt for Kato’s men inside evacuation centers.

He said the military would coordinate with social workers to determine who the legitimate evacuees were and pin down members of the BIFF posing as among those displaced by clashes that started Aug. 5.

Some 45,000 people have been displaced by the continuing violence, the UNHCR noted.

“The evacuation sites are cramped and sometimes eight to 10 families are forced to share a room. Consequently, proper sanitation and other facilities are severely lacking. If the communities are forced to remain in the [evacuation centers] longer, we fear that the situation will become even worse for them,” Jain said.

He said the UNHCR was hoping the situation would normalize so the evacuees could return to their homes.

On Thursday, suspected BIFF members ambushed and killed three people, including a barangay councilor of Tuanadatu, said Senior Insp. Jeoffrey Sanchez, police chief of Maitum, South Cotabato.

But Sanchez said the incident was not related to the Maguindanao attacks staged by the BIFF. The ambush that killed Tuanadatu Councilor Freddie Macate, his wife Polan, and an Edgar Paciente, was triggered by a feud, he said.

Maitum Mayor Elsie Lucille Perrett urged Tuanadatu residents to stay calm and said “it was just an isolated incident.”

The death toll in the Maguindanao clashes has risen to over 80, Asto said. Of the death toll, five were soldiers and a similar number consisted of civilians.

Yesterday, three more soldiers were wounded when BIFF forces attacked a military detachment in Barangay Bagan in Datu Unsay, Maguindanao. Asto said the soldiers repelled the attackers after a 30-minute fire fight. Jeoffrey Maitem and Edwin Fernandez with a report from Aquiles Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao