Family feud displaces villagers in North Cotabato

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines — Two feuding Moro clans in Midsayap town again clashed Friday, forcing dozens of families to evacuate to neutral grounds.

The Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion even fired 81 millimeter mortars at the positions of the rival Macalimbol and Duluan clans in Barangay Tumbras in Midsayap, North Cotabato for them to disengage and prevent innocent villagers from getting trapped in the crossfire.

The two families are locked in squabbles for arable lands in Barangay Tumbras.

Local officials have repeatedly tried but failed to amicably settle the rido (clan war) involving the Macalimbol and Duluan clans.

A civilian named Akmad Baraguir was reportedly hit by a stray rifle bullet while the two groups were fighting in an open field in Barangay Tumbras.

Major Arvin Encinas, public affairs officer of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the 34th IB will do its best to prevent a repeat of the gunfights between the Macalimbol and the Duluan clans.

He said the 34th IB will not hesitate to use force against them if the conflict would spill over to populated areas in Midsayap.