MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato – A ranking leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and his aide were killed by still unidentified gunmen along the national highway here Tuesday afternoon, police said.
“Manhunt operations have been launched against the perpetrators,” Superintendent Bernard Tayong, speaking for the North Cotabato police office, said following the killing of Datu Lumambong Mananimbong, division commander MNLF for Central Mindanao and his aide, Bert Aran, both residents of Carmen, North Cotabato.
Tayong said Mananimbong, 66, was standing in front of the Hall of Justice building, which is situated along the national highway in Barangay Sadaan, around 4 p.m. when two men riding in tandem on a motorbike arrived and shot him at close range. Aran who was standing beside the MNLF official was also hit by the volley of gunfire, police said.
Police said the gunmen sped off towards the direction of nearby Aleosan town after the incident. Responding police and soldiers rushed the victims to a local hospital but both were pronounced dead on arrival by attending physicians.
“Most likely it was triggered by a feud involving the victims and the gunmen,” Tayong said of the incident, adding that it was not also clear if both victims were armed at the time they were shot.
He added that the Midsayap police are already investigating the case to determine the identities of the perpetrators and their motive.
Mananimbong is a member of the MNLF under the Nur Misuari faction. The rebel group forged a final peace deal with the government in 1996.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1041821
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.