2 MILF men killed in continuing clan war in North Cotabato

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Two Moro rebels were killed while two community watchmen were wounded on Thursday in a series of firefights in Barangay Lumupog in Midsayap town that sent close to a  hundred families fleeing for their lives.

The slain guerillas belong to a group led by Abbas Kudanding of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's 105th Base Command.

Captain Tony Bulao, spokesman of the Army’s 602nd Brigade based in Carmen town in North Cotabato, identified the wounded civilian volunteers as Daniel Baguiner and Anuarudin Sambayaan.

Baguiner and Sambayaan are followers of Rens Tukuran, incumbent chairman of Barangay Lumupog in Midsayap town in the first district of the province.

The encounter in Barangay Lumupog erupted when Kudanding’s group surrounded a farming enclave and opened fire at houses in the area, which led to a a running gunbattle.

Kudanding, who is backed by two other MILF commanders, Haon and Obitin, is locked in a bloody rido (clan war) with Tukuran and his relatives.

Bulao said the latest firefights in Barangay Lumupog forced dozens of innocent Moro families to evacuate to safer areas for fear of getting trapped in the crossfire.

Bulao said local officials have sent emissaries to convince the rebels to reposition away from Barangay Lumupog to enable evacuees to return to their villages in the area.