ARMM attends to 3,000 families displaced by Army-BIFF skirmishes

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 9): ARMM attends to 3,000 families displaced by Army-BIFF skirmishes

More than 3,000 families have been displaced by the weekend fighting involving renegade Moro rebels and government forces in Maguindanao and government relief agencies are attending to their needs, an Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) official said on Tuesday.

The displaced families were from the towns of Shariff Saydona Mustapha and Datu Piang, both in Maguindanao, and the scene of heavy firefight between Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The BIFF, led by foreign trained Islamic preacher Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato, has about 1,000 armed followers who on Saturday and Sunday, launched simultaneous attacks, including roadside bombing, against the military that resulted in the death of six government troops and 18 rebels.

Lawyer Laisa Alamia, executive secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(ARMM), said validation on the evacuees is ongoing and being undertaken by representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Regional Human Rights Commission (RHRC) and Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

Alamiya explained that the validation is a process ahead of the distribution of relief goods to displaced families.

Many of the displaced individuals were farmers and ordinary folks who are now housed in public schools and village centers. Some stayed in their relatives in nearby villages.

At least six civilians were hurt during Army offensive aimed at flushing the guerrillas responsible in the series of attacks against government forces.

Major General Romeo Gapuz, 6th Infantry Division chief, had announced Monday the military had called off the offensive in deference to the start of fasting month on Wednesday.

Earlier, the military said the BIFF was hell bent on derailing the resumption of peace talks between Manila and the MILF in Malaysia. The talks began Monday in Kuala Lumpur.

The BIFF is opposed to the grant of genuine autonomy to the Bangsamoro people and vowed to push for the establishment of an Islamic Independent state in southern Philippines.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=542435