2 dead in gunfight between Moro groups
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 16:00 PM Tue Dec 27, 2022
553
By:
John M. Unson
Soldiers prevent civilians from passing through a road network in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao del Sur as to warring Moro armed men trade shots Tuesday. (SSB FB page/via DXMS )
COTABATO CITY - Two gunmen were killed as rival Moro groups traded shots before dawn Tuesday in Sultan sa Barongis town in Maguindanao del Sur, causing panic among villagers in houses nearby.
Local leaders in Sultan sa Barongis and officials of the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office told reporters the hostilities erupted when gunmen led by Marham Sali attacked the group of Ustadz Daya in Damabagu area in Sultan sa Barongis at around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday.
Investigators from the Sultan sa Barongis Municipal Police Station are still trying to determine what triggered the hostility between the groups of Sali and Daya.
There is prevalence of "rido," meaning clan war in most Moro vernaculars, in central Mindanao's neighboring Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and North Cotabato provinces.
The groups of Sali and Daya, armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers, traded shots for about 30 minutes, the local police said in an initial statement.
Two followers of Sali were killed in the ensuing shootout, their cadavers retrieved from the scene of the encounter by local government emergency responders and personnel of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion.
Major Gen. Roy Galido, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said they have deployed more soldiers in the area to help the police and local officials prevent a repeat of the incident.
Reports reaching the headquarters of 6th ID in Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao del Norte stated that four of Sali’s men were wounded in the skirmishes that sent residents running for their lives.