8 dead, 6 hurt in Lanao del Sur feud over car

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines—Eight people were killed and six others wounded as two warring Muslim clans clashed in a long-running feud stemming from the sale of a car, the local military commander said Monday.

Soldiers were deployed in Sultan Dumalondong town in Lanao del Sur to stop the fighting that broke out on Friday, said Colonel Daniel Lucero, chief of the Army’s 103rd Brigade.

“We have sent troops to pacify the warring clans. At least eight people have been killed on both sides since the fighting erupted,” Lucero said.

Lucero said the warring clans involved those of Asgar Sangcopan and Apollo Alim , on the one hand, and Arimao Azum, on the other.

The feud between the families of two local politicians has raged since 2002, according to Lucero.

“It all began with the non-payment of a vehicle sold to one of the clan leaders, and since then they have clashed sporadically,” he said.

The eight people killed in violence over the past few days were armed members of the rival clans and their followers, according to Lucero.

Lucero said both parties had agreed to suspend fighting to retrieve the wounded and the dead bodies.

Violent feuds between families over such things land, political power and business influence have long existed across the Philippines.

This is a particular problem in the south, where Muslim families engage in extended feuds of retribution in a phenomenon known as “rido.”

A study by the US-based Asia Foundation found that “rido” feuds in the south claimed more than 5,500 lives between 1930 and 2005.

In the worst recent case of such violence, leaders of a Muslim clan that dominated politics in one southern province allegedly massacred 57 people in 2009 to stop a rival’s effort to run against the family in local elections.

The clan leaders are currently on trial over the killings.—With Richel V. Umel, Inquirer Mindanao

Originally posted at 10:43 am | Monday, November 07, 2011