Evacuees mob ARMM Vice Governor Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr. as he distributes relief goods in Datu Piang to residents displaced by the recent fighting between the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter and the military. (photo by Dennis Arcon, News5)
Thousands of civilians who fled last weekend’s clashes between a Moro rebel group and government forces remain crammed in evacuation centers in several towns of Maguindanao province as tensions persist despite the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Vice Governor Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr., who delivered relief goods at a school in the town of Datu Piang, where some of the clashes between the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter and the Army took place, was swarmed by evacuees who said it was the first assistance they had received since leaving their homes.
Evacuees at a school in Datu Piang swarm ARMM Vice Gov Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr. as he dsitributes relief goods
Although overwhelmingly Muslim, there are also Christians and lumad (indigenous people) among the evacuees.
Nene, a Christian from Mamasapano town recalls how they fled the fighting
The displacement has been particularly difficult for the Muslim evacuees who have been unable to fulfill their religious obligations for Ramadan, which entail fasting and prayers during the day.
Although fighting has generally died down after the military ceased operations just before Ramadan started, there have been reports of harassment by armed groups.
Explosions also rocked Datu Piang, where a bridge was slightly damaged by two bombs, and Cotabato City, where one person died and four others were wounded in a grenade attack, on the eve of Ramadan.
Although the military blamed the BIFF, a faction that broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, for the Datu Piang bombing, a spokesman for the group denied responsibility for the attack on the bridge.
Motorcycles drive past the bomb crater left on a bridge in Datu Piang that was bombed earlier this week
At least three Army detachments in Midsayap, North Cotabato were also reported harassed by gunmen. Some of the fighting last weekend took place in the North Cotabato town of Pikit, just across the river from Datu Piang.
The weekend clashes left six soldiers and, the military claims, up to 80 BIFF fighters dead. A number of civilians were also wounded in the crossfire.
The situation prompted Lucman to appeal to combatants to “give way to Ramadan and let people enjoy this month.”
Next week, Maguindanao’s Peace and Order Council will be meeting to find ways to defuse the tensions and allow the rest of Ramadan to be observed peacefully, Vice Governor Datu Lester Sinsuat said.
Maguindanao Vice Governor Datu Lester Sinsuat
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