4 dead, 4 hurt in Moro versus Moro clashes

COTABATO CITY - Four were killed while four others were hurt in separate clashes Wednesday in Maguindanao del Sur between rival groups led by commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The first to perish in the two incidents is villager Baguer Laguiam, who was caught in the crossfire between rival MILF forces that figured in a gunfight in a secluded barangay in Radjah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur.

Municipal officials told reporters two other innocent villagers were wounded in the hostilities between the groups of MILF Commanders Datu Uti and Blacky, squabbling for control of strategic patches of arable lands in Radjah Buayan.

Members of the Radjah Buayan municipal peace and order council, led by Mayor Maruja Mastura, have pacified the two groups and are now initiating backchannel dialogues to convince its leaders to settle their differences amicably.

Reports reaching the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division stated that three Moro men were killed in another encounter Wednesday between adversarial MILF forces in Barangay Kapinpilan in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.

Captain Guiseppe Tamayo, chief of the Ampatuan municipal police, said the armed encounter in Barangay Kapinpilan involved local members of the MILF’s 105^th and 118^th Base Commands. 

Tamayo said two others were wounded in the incident, now in a hospital. 

The enemy MILF groups in Ampatuan figured in deadly clashes early on that displaced dozens of Moro families. 

Major Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of 6^th ID, said Thursday their units in Maguindanao del Sur are guarding against any spillover to other areas of the troubles in Ampatuan and Radjah Buayan.