Hostilities between two MILF groups displace Pikit residents

NORTH COTABATO - Officials have sent emissaries to convince leaders of two feuding groups in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Pikit town to reconcile following clashes that dislocated villagers.Dozens of Moro families were displaced when the two groups, one led by Kedtag and the other by Buaya, figured in running gunfights in Barangay Kabasalan in Pikit, North Cotabato on Wednesday.Chief Inspector Donald Cabigas of the Pikit municipal police said Kedtag is a senior official of the MILF’s 118thBase Command while Buaya belong to the front’s self-styled National Guards Division. They both belong to the MILF, Cabigas said.The two groups last fought on Wednesday, causing panic among villagers in Barangay Kabasalan.The rival factions are squabbling for control of strategic patches of farm lands in Barangay Kabasalan.Cabigas said local officials are now trying to resolve the conflict with the help of religious leaders and Moro elders in the municipality.The Army’s 602ndBrigade, which has jurisdiction over Pikit and neighboring towns in North Cotabato, has called on the joint government-MILF ceasefire committee to help resolve the dispute between Kedtag and Buaya.