ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), an anti-government group in the Philippines, released eight remaining captives today in a remote village of Basilan province, according to the military.
MNLF leader Hassan Addang freed his captives after his three daughters were earlier released by his rival clan under a certain Jiabrin of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The captives, most of whom are minors including an infant, were received by the local town officials and village leaders, said Carlito Galvez, commander of the army's 104th Army Brigade.
The military said the group agreed to swap his captives after his daughters were safely escorted to him.
Addang and his group seized last Thursday 12 villagers, who were relatives of Jiabrin, after his three daughters were taken away by the followers of the latter two days earlier.
In the southern island of Mindanao, clan war is common among warring clans and sometimes the hostilities could last for decades.
Major causes include land disputes, particularly those caused by disputed government surveys or ancestral land claims, political rivalries, crime-related competition over resources and businesses.