Enemy clans in Maguindanao del Sur reconcile

COTABATO CITY --- Two Moro groups locked in a deadly clan war that lasted for years reconciled Wednesday through the intercession of peace advocates. 

The leaders of the two groups, Andingan Omar of Barangay Sigayan in Lambayong town in Sultan Kudarat and Sukarno Ampatuan of Barangay Sampao in Radjah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur have signed a peace pact in the presence of local leaders.

The duo met in the headquarters of the Army’s 33^rd Infantry Battalion in Barangay Zapakan in Radjah Buayan, where they forged a covenant brokered by Army and police officials and the peace advocacy group Maguindanao Peace Mediation, Reconciliation, Unification and Investigation Team.

It ended years of a deep-seated conflict that have exacted fatalities on both sides.

The groups led by Omar and Ampatuan have had bloody clashes that caused underdevelopment in affected farming enclaves.