Tuesday, July 25, 2006

2 killed In Clash of Rival MILF Factions In Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 25 Jul) Two persons were killed and five others wounded in in fierce clashes between two warring groups in Maguindanao province in the strife-torn southern Filipino region, police said on Tuesday.
Police said one of the wounded was an eight-year old girl Marissa Saed who was shot in the town Guindulungan over the weekened where two factions of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) clashed over an old feud.
Superintendent Lamala Gunting, the provincial police chief, said the fighting erupted between the groups of MILF leaders Talio Macalpan and Kayob Pual.
Pual also accused the group of Macalpan of ambushing them on July 19. The two rebel leaders previously clashed over ancestral lands in the town.
Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, said there were efforts to reconcile the quarreling groups. "There are efforts to peacefully settle this problem," he told the Zamboanga Journal.
Datu Antao Midtimbang, the town's mayor, also sent emissaries to the rival factions to convince them to stop fighting.

No comments: