BIFF members attack farmers' districts in N. Cotabato
NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Marauding members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on Thursday simultaneously attacked two peasant enclaves in Midsayap town, provoking clashes with armed villagers and community watchmen.
The local police said two groups of BIFF bandits surrounded at the same time Bentad and Lunok Districts in Midsayap and shot houses with assault rifles and shoulder-fire 40 millimeter grenades.
Barangay tanods and armed peasants engaged the bandits in an hour-long running firefight, preventing them from closing in.
The bandits, led by clerics Karialan and Tambako, scampered away after sensing that responding combatants of the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion have started arriving at the scene.
The BIFF’s attempt to intrude into the two farming communities forced Muslim and Christian folks to evacuate to safer areas.
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