Warring MILF groups displace NCotabato folk

From the Manila Times (Apr 28): Warring MILF groups displace NCotabato folk

Two warring groups belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) engaged in hostilities have displaced a big number of residents in Pikit, North Cotabato since Wednesday.

Local officials have already sent emissaries to convince the leaders of the warring Kedtag Group and Buaya Group to reconcile their differences to prevent further adverse effects on the dislocated villagers.

Dozens of Moro families were displaced when these two groups figured in running gun battles in Barangay Kabasalan in Pikit on Wednesday.

Chief Insp. Donald Cabigas, chief of the Pikit police station, said Kedtag is a senior official of the MILF’s 118th Base Command while Buaya belongs to the group’s National Guards Division.

The rival factions are fighting for control of strategic patches of farmlands in Barangay Kabasalan.

Cabigas said local officials are now trying to resolve the conflict with the help of religious leaders and Moro elders in the municipality.

The Philippine Army’s 602nd Brigade, which has jurisdiction over Pikit and neighboring towns in North Cotabato, has called on the joint government-MILF ceasefire committee to help resolve the dispute between Kedtag and Buaya.

http://www.manilatimes.net/warring-milf-groups-displace-ncotabato-folk/324574/