MILF ambush leaves 2 farmers dead

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ambushed a group of farmers, killing two of them, as they were returning to an abandoned enclave of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in North Cotabato last Friday.

Toto Manial and Eddie Buisan, who died on the spot, were among the unarmed farmers identified with the MNLF who tried to return to Barangay Marbel after having been displaced in an earlier attack by MILF guerrillas.

Capt. Tony Bulao, spokesman for the  Army’s 602nd Infantry Battalion, said the ambush was reportedly led by two MILF commanders identified as  Ali Mansur and Salonga.

The hostilities between the MILF and MNLF groups in Barangay Marbel, a government recognized “peace and development community,” started before the May 13 elections.

The conflict erupted when the MNLF forces reportedly prevented the MILF members from attending a peace forum in the village.