MILF 'infighting' leaves 3 dead in Maguindanao del Sur
COTABATO CITY (PNA) – Three gunmen were killed after clashes involving warring families broke out in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur, police said Thursday, March 30.
In an interview, Capt. Giuseppe Tamayo, Ampatuan municipal police chief, said the clashes erupted on Tuesday night, March 28, and continued until about 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29.
The warring families belonged to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) base commands locked in a long-standing feud over territorial control of vast tracts of land in Barangay Kapinpilan, Ampatuan, Tamayo said.
“The protagonists in this fighting are members of the MILF’s 118th and 105th Base Commands,” Tamayo said. “As I speak, they are still firing sporadically at each other although from a distance.”
As a result, about 100 families have fled to safer grounds and are temporarily housed at the municipal gymnasium.
Tamayo said efforts by MILF officials are under way to prevent the escalation of hostilities among its members in the area.