DISPLACED. Some of the evicted families as a result of skirmishes involving Dawlah Islamiyah terrorists and Moro Islamic Liberation Front combatants in Maguindanao del Sur since Dec. 7, 2023. The local government of Pagalungan town is attending to the needs of the displaced families. (Photo courtesy of Pagalungan LGU)
PAGALUNGAN, Maguindanao Sur – Some 5,000 civilians have been displaced by armed hostilities involving Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the terrorist group Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) in a remote village here, located beside the Liguasan Marsh.
“These civilians are temporarily staying in nearby villages and still afraid to return home. We are attending to the needs of affected families,” Pagalungan Vice Mayor Abdillah Mamasabulod said in an interview on Tuesday.
Classes in Barangay Dalgan and adjacent villages have been suspended since Monday to ensure the safety of students, Mamasabulod added.
On Monday, members of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces retrieved their fallen comrades from the marshland and immediately buried them per Islamic tradition, according to Datu Edu Dalga, the chair of Barangay Dalgan.
Reports said at least 11 Islamic State-linked DI gunmen, nine MILF members, and two civilians caught in the crossfire were killed in the intermittent clashes.
Mamasabulod said the conflict erupted on Dec. 7 when the DI Hassan Group killed a man named Kagi Samsudin and his one-year-old daughter in Barangay Dalgan.
Samsudin’s relatives, who are members of the MILF, pursued the fleeing DI gunmen deep into the marshland but were ambushed instead, resulting in nine deaths, according to MILF commander Jack Abas.
The Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade came to the MILF’s rescue on Dec. 9 when it launched air and artillery attacks against the DI, killing 11 of them.
Clearing operations are continuing against the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)-inspired gunmen and would not pause even during the holidays, according to the military. (PNA)
