Hundreds flee as military, BIFF clash in North Cotabato

From MindaNews (Aug 10): Hundreds flee as military, BIFF clash in North Cotabato

ALEOSAN, North Cotabato -- Hundreds of residents fled their homes as the military launched offensives Saturday against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the neighboring towns of Pikit and Aleosan in North Cotabato.

Lt. Col. Donald Gumiran, 40th Infantry Battalion commander, said the military operation came after BIFF forces attacked a military camp in Barangay Tubak in Aleosan town.

The evacuation of residents from three villages in the towns of Aleosan and Pikit reportedly started Friday night as BIFF elements were sighted in the area.

Gumiran said that residents from Barangay Pagangan in Aleosan and Barangays Nalapaan and Bualan in Pikit have evacuated near the national highway.

“Exchange of gunfire could be heard in [Barangays] Pagangan, Lagundi [in Pikit] and Nalapaan,” Gumiran said at around 8 a.m. Saturday.

 

MindaNews was at Barangay Pagangan at around 2 p.m. and gunfire could be heard here where evacuees were massing.

Peace advocate Fr. Bert Layson, who is closely monitoring the situation with other local peace monitors, said the military offensive has been coordinated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to avoid misencounter with MILF fighters.

The target of the operation is the BIFF rebels, he said.

“Military officials and local MILF commanders, in the spirit of the peace process, are closely coordinating with each other to avoid misencounter. We pray this will not worsen as time goes on,” Layson said.

The BIFF is a breakaway group of the MILF.

Jessie Enid, executive assistant of North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza, said they have so far recorded 49 families from Barangay Tubak in Aleosan that sought refuge at an evacuation center in Barangay Pagangan on Saturday morning.

“That’s just an initial record,” he told MindaNews on the phone.

Enid added that some of the displaced families from Barangay Pagangan have yet to be validated since they fled to their relatives in the neighboring town of Pikit.

As of 1:20 p.m., he disclosed that the military pounded suspected lairs of the BIFF in Barangay Tubak using 105mm howitzers, as clashes continue.

Enid said the local government of Aleosan has already deployed trucks in Barangay Bago Libas to transport residents to evacuation centers should fighting escalates.

Saturday’s clashes came a day after the celebration of Eid ul Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadhan.

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2013/08/10/hundreds-flee-as-military-biff-clash-in-north-cotabato/