2 MILF factions in Sultan Kudarat end territorial dispute

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Two heavily-armed factions in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, locked in squabbles for control of strategic areas in Palimbang town in Sultan Kudarat, reconciled on Thursday.

Major Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Saturday that the leaders of the feuding groups, Esmael Binago and Abu Abdullah, agreed to end their deep-seated animosity through the intercession of Palimbang Mayor Joenime Kapina and Brig. Gen. Michael Santos of the 603rd Infantry Brigade.

Santos has jurisdiction over Army units in Palimbang and nearby towns in Sultan Kudarat province in Region 12.

To show commitment in ending their feud, the two groups turned over 36 assault rifles, including bolt-action Barrett sniper rifles, nine B-40 rocket launchers, a 5.56 Ultimax rifle, a .50 caliber machinegun and a 60 millimeter mortar to Kapina and Santos during a reconciliation rite in Barangay Lumitan in Palimbang.

Officials of police and Army units in Sultan Kudarat said Binago is leader of the MILF’s 13th Biwang Brigade while Abdullah is one of the field commanders of the 104th Base Command of the front, which has a peace agreement with Malacañang.

The chairman of the MILF's central committee, Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, is the appointed chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, established in 2019 as part of their final compact with the national government.

Santos and local executives in Palimbang said the groups led by Binago and Abdullah figured in clashes over control of swaths of lands in secluded areas in Palimbang, causing the displacement, each time, of hundreds of poor Moro families.