ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 5, 2012) – Armed followers of a Muslim clan attacked a policeman’s house in the southern Philippine province of Sulu and sparking a fire fight that left one person dead and another wounded, officials said Sunday.
Officials said the gunmen, numbering about 8, opened fire on the house in the town of Patikul, after accusing the policeman’s brother of murdering a clan member late Saturday.
The motive and the perpetrator of the killing is still unknown, but Sulu police chief Antonio Freyra said the fighting stopped after police forces arrived in the village.
“These clan members attacked the house of one of our policeman after failing to find the man they are accusing of killing a member of the Tulawie family. The attack triggered a fighting that killed a clan member and left one more wounded,” he told the Mindanao Examiner by phone.
He said there were no reports of civilian casualties.
Freyra said they are investigating the accusation of the Tulawie clan and the attack on the policeman’s house. He said more police forces were deployed in the town to prevent the escalation of violence.
“The laws of the land must prevail here and not the laws of the jungle. We deployed more forces in the town to ensure the safety of the civilians,” he said.
Police did not say if they arrested any of the clan members. The town mayor, Kabir Hayudini, did not release any statement about the clashes. (Mindanao Examiner)
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