MAGUINDANAO – A former rebel leader attacked the house of a politician in the restive province of Maguindanao, sparking a firefight that left one person injured, the army said on Saturday.
It said gunmen led by Tamano Mamalapat, a senior member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, assaulted the house of Akmad Ampatuan, a former mayor in Datu Salibo town.
The attack was connected to a long-running feud, according to Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the 6th Infantry Division.
She said the attack triggered a firefight that wounded Salik Camsa, but it was unknown whether the man was caught in the crossfire or had been fighting for either side of the warring clans.
Mamalapat’s group had previously attacked Akmad’s house and that of his son, Maroph, who is now the acting mayor of Shariff Aguak, after his rival Mayor Zahara Ampatuan went into hiding last year following her alleged links to the 2009 massacre of 58 people, including 32 journalists and media workers in Maguindanao.
Zahara’s father-in-law, Andal Ampatuan, who is the clan’s patriarch, and his sons and other family members are facing multiple murder charges because of the massacre. Zahara denied all charges against her and branded the accusation as political propaganda.
Akmad and Maroph had turned their backs on Andal and his sons and is now bitter political rival.
Andal’s mansion and that of his son Zaldy, former governor of the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, were also strafed by gunmen.
Just last month, gunmen also ambushed Akmad’s convoy and wounding him and two of his bodyguards in Guindulungan town, also in Maguindanao.
Ampatuan’s convoy was heading to Shariff Aguak when gunmen attacked the politician’s vehicle. Also in December, an unidentified assailant also fired a rifle grenade on the mansion of Zahara, although no one was injured or killed, and caused little damage as the grenade exploded on the sprawling compound. (Mindanao Examiner)
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