Download PDF (507.95 KB)INCIDENT BACKGROUND
Conflict and repeated displacements continue to affect thousands of individuals in the province of Maguindanao, in the newly established Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), particularly in the area SPMS Box (Salibu, Pagatin, Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak) and its peripheral communities. Some of the affected population had returned home not long ago, but were displaced again due to persistent security risks.
On 17 July 2019, approximately 2,470 individuals (494 families) in Barangay Bagong, Shariff Aguak municipality were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in Sitio Mistah, Barangay Kuloy in the same municipality. The increasing presence of government security forces deployed in the interior communities of the SPMS Box, aggravated by the launch of mortar shelling, triggered fear of a possible armed encounter and of getting caught in the crossfire. The IDPs were able to return to their habitual places of residence a few days after the incident.
On 25 July 2019, residents of communities at the boundaries of the municipalities of Pikit (Cotabato province), Shariff Saydona Mustapha and Datu Salibu (Maguindanao province) were again constrained to flee upon the start of military operations, involving both aerial bombardment and ground assault, by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). According to some reports, the nine (9) BIFF members who were reportedly killed in action allegedly included some minors.
CURRENT SITUATION
As of this report, approximately 14,715 individuals (2,943 families) have been forcibly displaced in Pikit, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, and Datu Salibu. In Pikit municipality, four (4) barangays Makasindeg, Kabasalan, Paidu Pulangi, and Punul are currently hosting IDPs, based on the report of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
Currently, the IDPs are affected by both armed conflict and natural disaster because their places of origin are in remote, low-lying areas that are often flooded as a result of continuous rainfall. They are apprehensive that their dwellings may be destroyed or damaged as a result of the ongoing hostilities, and have appealed to the parties to the conflict to take measures to protect civilian lives, properties, and livelihoods.
https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/idp-protection-assessment-report-continuing-displacement-maguindanao-afp-vs-0
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