FLASHand Rival MILF forces clash in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY-- Local officials on Friday called on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leadership to stop the recurring encounters in Datu Abdullah Sangki town between forces of two commanders squabbling for control of swaths of farmlands in the area.The two MILF groups, one led by Zacaria Guma and the other under Datu Item, repeatedly traded shots from morning until noontime Wednesday at the border of Barangays Tuka and Madanding, forcing dozens of peasant families to evacuate to safer areas.The hostilities escalated when two other guerilla commanders, a certain Tony and Rex, of the MILF’s 105thand 106thBase Commands, respectively, joined in the violent forays involving the two feuding factions.Tony is identified with Guma’s group while Rex is a henchman of Datu Item, a close relative of former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan, Jr. The local government unit of Datu Abdullah Sangki is trying to pacify these two groups,” said municipal councilor Anwar Emblawa.Emblawa said their municipal peace and order council, comprised of local officials and community leaders, appealed to the central committee of the MILF to order the two groups to reposition away from Datu Abdullah Sangki.Emblawa said an innocent villager, a woman, was wounded in the crossfire that ensued last Thursday.Emblawa said the feuding MILF factions are locked in territorial disputes.Emblawa said only the joint government-MILF ceasefire committee, and the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team, which is helping oversee the enforcement of the rebel group’s July 1997 interim security pact with government, can help resolve the conflict amicably.