1 killed, another hurt in Moro clans war in Lanao del Sur

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines  --- A Manaraw villager was killed while another was wounded when members of two armed Moro clans clashed in a barangay in Malabang town Monday over a missing farm animal.

The hostilities erupted when heavily-armed members of the Montañer family, led by an elder named Asraf, intruded into the farm land of Rakih Alih, in search of a missing cow.

Investigators said Alih, whose family is also known for owning assorted firearms, including military-type assault rifles, misconstrued as “direct accusation” the search done at the surroundings of his farm for the missing cow by the Montañers.

A heated argument between leaders of the two clans led to a running firefight that resulted in  the death of a villager, Baksah Silongan, who was caught in the cross-fire.

A member of the Montañer clan, Bomboyan, was wounded in the ensuing encounter, according to the Malabang municipal police.

Inspector Romnick Lintangan, chief of the Malabang police, said they have deployed policemen to the area to prevent further clashes between the groups.

Malabang is a coastal town in the second district of Lanao del Sur which has dozens of still unresolved clan wars, called “rido” in the Maranaw vernacular.

Lanao del Sur, one of the five component provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,  accounts for most number of unsettled decades-old clan wars in ARMM.