Bad weather halts clearing ops in Zambo City

ZAMBOANGA City, Philippines - The police's clearing operations in the city's conflict-stricken villages have been halted due to massive flooding caused by days of continuous rains, security officials said Tuesday.

Regional police spokesman Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, meanwhile, clarified that members of Task Force Suyud would stay put in the 40-hectares of conflict-stricken areas in the city.

Huesca said the clearing operation team has already completed Sector One, which includes some of the vital installation and partial parts of the ravaged communities.

He said that some areas affected by hostilities of the Moro National Liberation Front are partially flooded.

"It is not advisable for the clearing police personnel as they might accidentally step on unexploded ordnance buried in the flood or might miss it out,” Huesca said.

Huesca said that despite the flooding, they have ordered several policemen to proceed to the areas that have yet to be covered by the clearing operations.

“So, once we stop clearing operation to a certain place we put people for the purpose to prevent any contamination of the evidences in the ground,” Huesca said.

The clearing forces have so far recovered 280 unexploded ordnance and 11 assorted firearms.

He added that the clearing team has been able to recover 156 cadavers from the conflict-stricken areas. Ten of the recovered bodies belonged to civilians and the rest were MNLF rebels.