2 villagers hurt in clash of two armed groups in Basilan town
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Two villagers were hurt in an encounter between two Yakan groups, one of which is identified with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), in the town proper of Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, on Tuesday morning, October 28.
Local executives, police and military officials have repositioned the two groups away from each other after their exchange of gunfire forced hundreds of villagers to flee their homes and relocate to safer areas.
Leaders of one of the groups, identified with the MILF, are relatives of Muslim preacher Nadzri Asdana Tarahin, who was killed in nearby Lamitan City last week in an attack allegedly carried out by gunmen from the rival group.
The slain Tarahin also served as a barangay councilor in Baguindan, Tipo-Tipo.
Police had already identified his killers, whose clan reportedly ignored appeals to surrender them to the Basilan Provincial Police Office for prosecution.
Tipo-Tipo Mayor Ingatun Istarul immediately suspended classes in all schools in the municipality following the outbreak of hostilities on Tuesday morning.
Two villagers were wounded in the crossfire, according to police and Army officials in Basilan.
Officials of the Basilan Provincial Police reported to Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, that Tarahin’s relatives again urged on Tuesday that the rival group surrender the gunmen who shot him dead last week at the Lamitan City public terminal, about 30 kilometers from Tipo-Tipo.
De Guzman said his subordinates in the island province, along with Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman, are doing their best to resolve the conflict amicably.
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