2 die as warring Moro clans clash in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY - Two men were killed Friday morning during a gun battle between two feuding factions in Pikit town, North Cotabato, the Pikit police today said.Senior Inspector Sindato Karim, Pikit PNP offier in charge,said the fire fight between the groups of Langayen village chair Norhan Hamid and that of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) 105 Base Command's Commander Kuyo,” forced 400 families from Barangay Kolambog and Tapodok to flee their homes.The fatalities, who belonged to Hamid’s group, were identified as Nasrudin Tayuan and Pua Mangadta. Meanwhile, most the evacuees have been temporarily housed in schools and barangay halls in nearby villages. Some of the other evacuees stayed with relatives. The Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) has visited theevacuation sites and had distributed food packs. Karim said members of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 12 were also planning to visit evacuees to make sure that their rights were being protected and respected. We do not have exact date yet but the CHR [is] coordinating [with] our office for possible visit in the evacuation sites the soonest possible time,” Karim said in a text message.