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COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/16 August)—Clashes among members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) due to land conflict have subsided in North Cotabato province, a military official said Friday.
Captain Tony Bulao, spokesman of the 602nd Army Brigade, said that troops under commanders Akas Kumawit and Guiram Malagoua of the 110th MILF base command clashed with the men under commander Konti Milo of the MILF’s Kapalawan Regional Committee, reportedly leaving an undetermined number of casualties from both sides.
Clashes erupted between them starting last Wednesday afternoon in Sitio Kiromay, Barangay Malapag in Carmen town, North Cotabato, he said.
“There were accounts of casualties from both sides and we are still verifying it. But from the initial information that we got, the fighting was sparked by territorial dispute or land conflict,” Bulao said.
MILF spokesperson Von Al Haq said he got information that the warring parties belong to one clan, and their dispute may have been due to land conflict.
“We are still waiting for reports from the ground,” Al Haq added.
The MILF and troops from the 7th Infantry Battalion, along with Muslim elders and community officials, have rushed to the area to pacify the warring rebel factions. (Ferdinandh Cabrera/MindaNews)