MILF factions clash in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY – A land dispute between factions of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has left more than a dozen rebels killed in sporadic clashes in Maguindanao since Sunday.

The hostilities first erupted when supporters of rival MILF commanders in Tukanalugung, a farming area in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao, fought each other over land in the area.

The opposing clans are led by Adan Abdullah of the MILF’s 105th Base Command and rival Ustadz Amiril Kato Ombra of the 106th Base Command.

The military had identified Abdullah’s 105th Base Command as among those giving refuge to extremists of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, an accusation repeatedly denied by the MILF leadership.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said chieftain Al-Haj Murad has sent emissaries to pacify the two feuding clans.

Rajah Buayan town Mayor Datu Yacob Ampatuan said the hostilities in Tukanalugung spilled over to five barangays in his town when Ombra allegedly sent reinforcements to the guerrillas fighting the group of Adan.

“We refused to let them use our barangays as launching points for their offensives against the group of Abdullah. About 2,000 people were forced to evacuate as a result of the firefights between the forces of Ombra and our militia units,” Ampatuan said.

Ampatuan said those who managed to sneak in and help Ombra’s men fight the other group in Tukanalugung are now trapped in the border of Rajah Buayan, Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak.

Ampatuan said evacuees have claimed seven MILF rebels were killed in the simultaneous encounters in Rajah Buayan’s adjoining Barangays Sapakan, Malipulok, Tabungao, Pedsandawan, and Bakat.

Sources from Mamasapano’s peace and order council revealed displaced villagers in Tukanalugung witnessed the fierce encounters between the followers of Abdullah and Ombra that initially left more than five MILF fighters from both sides dead.