DAVAO CITY – Tribal leaders expressed grave concerns over the continued encampment by government troops in civilian areas in southern Philippines and exposing villagers to extreme dangers in case of rebel attacks on military targets.
Soldiers have put up camps in at least a dozen communities in Talaingod town in Davao del Norte province and are being supported by anti-communist militia groups.
A fact-finding mission by human rights groups also confirmed the reported presence of security forces in civilian areas.
Tribal leaders Datu Isan Maas and Datu Sumpo Taosan were forced to abandon their farms for fear that soldiers would harass or forced them to support the presence of military forces in those areas.
Villagers and tribal leaders who opposed the presence of troops in their areas were also tagged by the military as communist rebels or supporters, raising fears that they may be arrested and tortured by troops or militias into admitting they are members of the NPA, which has been waging a separatist war the past decades.
One militia group called Alamara was also reported to have allegedly harassed many civilians and tribal leaders and forcing them to join the armed group, which is reportedly notorious in human rights violations.
The group Kusog sa Katawhan Lumad sa Mindanao led by Dulphing Ogan expressed alarm over the human rights violations by the military against civilians in the provinces of Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Agusan del Sur. The group has led a fact-finding mission in those areas and had interviewed civilians and tribal leaders in the provinces. (Mindanao Examiner)
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