Rival Moro rebels end armed conflict as Army offers help to rebuild Moro communities

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 17): Rival Moro rebels end armed conflict as Army offers help to rebuild Moro communities

Rival Moro rebels in North Cotabato have come to terms and agreed not to use violence in resolving whatever misunderstanding that stand between them, officials said.

Habib Guiabar, chair of the local monitoring team in North Cotabato, said leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) both agreed to silence their guns and “always” use the diplomatic means of resolving long standing land dispute that triggered sporadic skirmishes in the past in interior villages of Matalam and Kidapawan City.

Taking this as a cue, the military in North Cotabato have shifted strategies from peacekeeping to community rebuilding to hundreds of civilians displaced by the MILF-MNLF fighting in the province. Incidentally, most of the displaced families are either related by blood and by affinity with the warring Moro fronts.

Brigadier General Ademar Tomaro, commander of the Army’s 603rd Brigade based in Carmen, North Cotabato, said the feuding MILF and MNLF forces, whose encounters in recent months left more than eight persons dead and dislocated some 2,000 villagers, agreed to settle their differences peacefully through the intercession of North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza.

“My recognition goes to the town mayors Mlang, Matalam, Kabacan, and Kidapawan City for helping the provincial governor and the 603rd Brigade resolve the long time disputes between forces of the MILF and MNLF in the province,” Tomaro told reporters.

Dima Ambel of the MNLF and Kagui Abas Bayan of the MILF’s 108th Base Command had signed a peace covenant detailing the disengagement of a total of 1,300 guerillas in the embattled farming enclaves to hasten the return of evacuees.

The peace covenant signing took place on a significant day where Muslims celebrate Eid’l Adha, the Islamic feast of sacrifice, at the Matalam municipal gymnasium.

The peaceful settlement of misunderstanding between rival MNLF and MILF forces was also made successful with the participation of respected Muslim leader, former Rep. Jimmy Matalam, who is revered as the “grand datu” of Moro communities in North Cotabato.

According to Tomaro, the Army is now focus on helping the local government units facilitate the reconstruction of affected villages.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=577400