40,000 remain displaced in conflict-hit Zamboanga: Red Cross

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Some 40,000 people have remained displaced from their homes in Zamboanga City nine months after a bloody fighting erupted between the government troops and Muslim militants, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said today.

Many of the displaced were trapped in poverty even before the clashes in September last year left them bereft of their homes and without the few assets they had possessed, ICRC said.

"Progress has been made in relocating a number of displaced people to transitional sites around the city," said Pascal Mauchle, head of the delegation of the ICRC in the Philippines.

"Nevertheless, efforts should continue to ensure that services such as water supply and sanitation are provided before moving people to these transitional sites. Especially now with the start of the rainy season, which will put additional strain on an already vulnerable population."

Poor sanitation practices and unsuitable facilities in evacuation centers along the Cawa-Cawa shoreline and the Joaquin Enriquez Stadium, still housing 17,000 displaced, creating ideal conditions for the spread of disease, the ICRC said.

Working with the Philippine Red Cross and in conjunction with the local water board, the ICRC said it is improving the sanitation and water supply in various evacuation centers and transitional sites.

A faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under its founding chairman Nur Misuari attacked Zamboanga City in September last year resulting to death of over 200 people mostly Muslim rebels.

The ensuing clashes, which lasted for more than two weeks, also resulted in a fire which swept through a densely populated area of Zamboanga destroying some 10,000 homes.