Clan feud behind clash with BIFF, says MILF

The largest Moro rebel group in the country said a recent clash between some of its fighters and a breakaway faction was sparked by a clan feud and was unrelated to the framework agreement for a peace agreement opposed by the faction.

Dozens of gunmen from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFF) clashed Thursday in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, killing at least four people .

The BIFF was formed by former MILF leader Ameril Umra Kato, who is wanted for a series of attacks on civilian communities following the Supreme Court rejection of the Arroyo administration’s peace agreement with the MILF.

The MILF itself is a breakaway group of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed a peace deal with the Ramos administration in 1996.

In an interview with a radio station in Mamasapano town, Mayor Benzar Ampatuan said MILF fighters clashed with BIFF members in Barangay (village) Lower Libutan.

The mayor said both sides suffered casualties, although he could not give their number. The clashes forced residents to evacuate the area, he added.

The clash was an offshoot of a long-standing land dispute, according to Ampatuan.

Col. Edgardo Gonzales, head of the Army’s 1st Mechanized Brigade, said he ordered soldiers to Mamasapano to prevent the conflict from escalating.

Ampatuan said he initiated a dialogue between the two groups to get them to enter into a peaceful settlement or at least an agreement not to resort to violence.

Ampatuan said he also asked the government and the MILF cease-fire committees to step in. Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao, with reports from Gil Cabacungan and AP