ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) clashed on Wednesday, Aug. 30, in Barangay Parangbasak in Lamitan City, Basilan Province after an MNLF member was shot dead in nearby Tipo Tipo town.
PLt. Col. Arlan Delumpines, Lamitan police chief, identified the MNLF member as Shein Ducol, 20.
Delumpines said that prior to the encounter, Ducol went to Bacud town in Tipo Tipo Municipality to confront a certain Ernie Culot, an MILF member suspected of killing Ducol’s father.
Upon arriving in the area, Ducol was allegedly shot dead by Culot’s cohorts who were apparently waiting for the victim.
The shooting incident led to an encounter between Ducol's MNLF supporters and the MILF in nearby Parangbasak town in Lamitan.
A platoon of the 18th Infantry Battalion and Parangbasak Barangay Chairman Juddihal Mudallan went to the encounter site to pacify the warring groups.
The two warring factions retreated from the area amid a tense situation in the village.