08.12.2015 20:48
Land dispute reported to have broken out between warring groups, some members of country's one time largest rebel group involved in peace deal with government.
Six people died Tuesday morning in the Philippines south when a land dispute broke out between two warring groups, some of them members of the country's one-time largest rebel group.
Church-run Radio DXND in Kidapawan City reported that the clash erupted at around 11 a.m. (0300GMT) when gunmen attacked a group of farmers at a banana plantation.
Citing police, the Inquirer reported that at least 30 armed men suspected of being members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had descended on Sitio Saban in Maybula village, Tulunan town, North Cotabato province.
Senior Insp. Ronnie Dillera, Tulunan police chief, said a three-hour firefight ensued, resulting in the deaths of four armed villagers including a security guard and two rebels.
"Three of the attackers were also killed but their identities had not been established as of yet. Their remains were brought to the PNP [Philippines National Police] headquarters in Tulunan," the Inquirer "ed Dillera as saying.
Security forces were deployed to pacify the two warring groups but came under fire.
Since the fighting started, some 64 families or more than 200 individuals in the village have fled the scene of the clash.
The state-run Philippine News Agency "ed Sr. Supt. Danny Reyes, Sultan Kudarat provincial police director, as saying that the attack was triggered by a land dispute involving two groups of farmers.
MILF spokesman Von Al-Haq said the dispute involving Moro residents and villagers in Maybula has remained unsettled to date, and was one among a long list of land conflicts that the government and the MILF should resolve as part of the ongoing peace process.
In March, the MILF signed a peace deal with the government to end a decades-long insurgency and establish a new authority to replace the much-criticized Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
In June, however, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected a bill to pass legislation that would bring the peace deal into law, saying it was unconstitutional, and would "lead us to perdition."
He presented a substitute bill to Congress in August, which included amendments by his committee to around 80 percent of the original draft, including 115 "major and minor" changes.
The MILF has said that it will not accept a diluted version, and has threatened to end decommissioning if a watered down version is passed. - Zamboanga