2,000 flee from MILF-MNLF clashes

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – More than 2,000 Muslim families have fled from a dozen villages at the coastal border of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao due to recurring clashes for 10 days now between local forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Officials in Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao said many of the evacuees have built makeshift shelters in barangays far from the scenes of the encounters.

The hostilities started when MILF forces led by Commander Jing Caludtiag raided MNLF communities in retaliation for earlier attacks by MNLF members from Barangay Tran in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat. – John Unson