KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/22 May) — The return of 287 displaced families who are housed temporarily at two evacuation sites in Aleosan town in North Cotabato was stopped when soldiers assigned as peacekeeping forces at the encounter site in Carmen town heard gunfire early Monday, a military official said.
Lt. Col. Benjamin Hao, commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion of the 602nd Brigade, said they told the evacuees to stay put as the situation in Barangay Tonganon, Carmen, their home place has remained “volatile”.
“Anytime, the fighting between two warring groups of the Moro commanders might erupt. We can’t guarantee their safe return,” said Hao.
He, however, was hopeful the situation in Tonganon will return to normal.
Since Friday, the evacuees have stayed at the evacuation sites in Aleosan after the groups of Commander Teo of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Commander DTR of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) clashed anew in the area.
A resident, a farm caretaker named Abubakar Ali, was hit by stray bullets and was rushed to Aleosan District Hospital, reports said.
Hao said the encounter between the commanders of the MNLF and the MILF came almost two months after a lull.
The fighting stemmed from a land conflict, he said. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)