MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 24, 2014) – Three civilians were wounded after being shot during fierce clashes between Moro rebels and villagers in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, officials said on Thursday.
Officials said the rebels under Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Akas Casim clashed with the group of Salam Paglas, the village chieftain of Balanaken in Datu Piang town. The fighting, which lasted several hours, was connected to a clan war, according to Col. Dickson Hermoso, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division.
He said the fighting, which erupted Wednesday, ended after Datu Piang Mayor Genuine Kamaong, along with MILF leader Abdul Wahid Tundok and police and military commanders, intervened to stop the escalation of violence.
Hermoso said the wounded were evacuated to the hospital. “We have sent troops to the area to serve as peacekeeping force,” he said.
He did not say what triggered the latest fighting or if any of those involved in the clashes were arrested.
In Lanao del Sur province, some 100 MILF rebels allegedly disarmed policemen and rescued 8 people who were arrested on gun and drug charges in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town, television news reports said.
The 1st Infantry Division said it has no report about the incident and MILF has not issued any confirmation about it. The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, has signed a peace deal with Manila recently. Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur are part of the five-province Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
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