Cotabato fighting displaces close to 10,000 villagers – NDRRMC

Members of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly 10,000 people have been displaced in Cotabato after fighting between government troops and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The mass evacuation in Pikit and Aleosan began last Saturday (August 10), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Tuesday.

As many as 670 families or 3,350 individuals were displaced in Aleosan, while 1,605 families or 6,420 individuals were displaced in Pikit.

The BIFF is the breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. They claimed responsibility to some of the bombings in Mindanao recently.

Clashes erupted Friday when militiamen reported being attacked by BIFF forces from across the Rio Grande de Mindanao, which separates Pikit and Aleosan from Datu Piang, the military said.