MILF, MNLF forces clash in North Cotabato

NORTH Cotabato, Philippines - Rival forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front clashed Sunday at the border of Matalam town and Kidapawan City, displacing hundreds of villagers.

A barangay watchman initially identified only as Balang, and an MILF guerilla named Larih Pala, were reportedly wounded in the ensuing skirmishes.

So intense were the firefights at the border of Barangays Manubuan and Patadon that responding soldiers closed to traffic for almost one hour a portion of the Cotabato-Davao Highway that straddles through the area.

The hostilities erupted when members of the MILF’s 108th Base Command attacked a local MNLF community, sparking a 30-minute running firefight.

“We were forced to close that portion of the highway because it was not safe for motorists and commuters to pass through while the feuding groups were fighting each other using heavy firepower,” said Captain Tony Bulao, spokesman of the Army’s 602nd Brigade.

Bulao said the marauding MILF guerillas that harassed the MNLF forces agreed to reposition away the same day through the intercession of Moro community leaders, among them Guimid Matalam from nearby Maguindanao province, who was a former vice-governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Local officials have confirmed that Sunday’s hostilities were related to the troubles that thrice rocked last May 2013 an MNLF-controlled agricultural district in Barangay Marbel in Matalam, which dislocated more than 5,000 villagers.

MILF forces have reportedly been trying to drive away MNLF forces from their lands in Barangay Marbel, a government-recognized “peace zone,” to enable them to establish a camp in the area.