Local officials in North Cotabato
have been finding peaceful means to settle a long standing Moro clan war in
Matalam town that erupted anew Wednesday, officials said.
Involved in the sporadic skirmishes were members of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
headed by Commander Kamid Ingkig and Commander Ambalatan, respectively.
"This is a recurring fire fight due to long standing
land dispute," said provincial Board Member Kelly Antao.
Antao who chairs the provincial council's peace and order
committee, said he has sent emissaries to warring families for the declaration
of a cessation of hostilities while efforts are underway to a just and peaceful
settlement.
"This conflict has been settled more than a year ago
but it appears one party was not satisfied and broke the interim accord,"
Antao said in a radio interview Thursday.
Chief Inspector Sonny Leoncito, Matalam town police chief,
said the armed conflict has already displaced some 1,500 families from the
villages of Kidama and Marbel.
The two villages have become a virtual ghost town after its
residents, both Muslims and Christians, deserted their homes as both sides
continue to trade bullets.
Several houses have been torched allegedly by one of the
warring parties.
Antao said he already sought the help of the government and
MILF ceasefire committee to intervene and prevent the conflict from turning
into a full blown war between and among Moro inhabitants.
Four civilians have died in evacuation centers since last
week when the conflict first erupted.
Soldiers from the 7th Infantry Battalion have been deployed
as peacekeepers to separate warring clans while local government efforts are
underway to pacify the protagonists.
Antao said his office is coordinating with concerned
government agencies to identify which lot area belongs to which of the warring
groups.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=893584
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