11,000 families displaced as gov’t troops battle BIFF

ZAMBOANGA CITY — At least 11,000 families were displaced and many were still grappling with daily survival in battles between government soldiers and rogue Moro guerrillas in Maguindanao province that largely went on unnoticed because all eyes were focused on the war on terror in Marawi City.

A report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Philippines said while barely noticed, clashes between soldiers and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) guerrillas in August in Maguindanao and skirmishes that followed sent thousands of families fleeing their homes.

Allison Lopez, head of ICRC public communications division, said the report documented the plight of the displaced families.

“Thousands of displaced families in Maguindanao have been deprived of basic everyday necessities as intense fighting persisted in the area,” Lopez said.

ICRC and Philippine Red Cross had provided food ration good for 15 days and other supplies to at least 11,600 people in the town of Shariff Saydona Mustapha on Dec. 2.

“While the attention over the recent months has been mostly focused on the Marawi conflict, several communities in Maguindanao have been seriously affected by armed clashes,” said Tomako Matsuzawa, head of the ICRC office in Cotabato City.

“We remain concerned about their plight as they have been displaced for more than three months,” Matsuzawa said.

Maj. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, head of the 6th Infantry Division, told the Inquirer, however, that fighting had stopped in these villages in the towns of Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak—Salbu, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Pagatin and Datu Salibo.

The ICRC report listed these areas as sites of clashes between soldiers and members of BIFF, an armed group that broke off from Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) over disagreements in MILF’s peace negotiations with the government. —Julie Alipala