MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE) Thirteen people have been killed and thousands displaced in fighting over land between rival Muslim separatist groups in North Cotabato, the military said Thursday.
Skirmishes led by commanders of the rival factions on Mindanao island have been going on for weeks in Barangay (village) Nanga-an in Kabacan town, with the latest clash occurring on Wednesday, said regional military spokesman Major Marlowe Patria.
"There was some posturing at first but the firefights began on January 9. Then it would stop, then start up again, on and off," Patria told AFP.
Maj. Marlowe Patria, a spokesman for the military’s 6th Division, said the fighting between the group of Moro Islamic Liberation Front Commander Kineg and Moro National Liberation Front Commander Dima Ambil continued as of Wednesday evening.
Patria said 13 people from both sides had been killed and nine others wounded, while 800 families had fled the area due to the fighting and were being sheltered by the local government.
The evacuees sought refuge near the highway in Lumayong and Kayaga villages, which are closer to the Kabacan town center.
MILF spokesman Mohager Iqbal said the two commanders were fighting over 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of land, and that leaders of both factions were trying to intercede to stop the violence.
"It is not the MNLF and MILF that are at war. It is just some members of the MILF and some members of the MNLF," Iqbal told AFP.
Eid Kabalu, MILF civil-military affairs chief, said his organization has already sent emissaries to settle the conflict, supposedly brought about by land claims.
“Some of them have already agreed to stop but last night (on Wednesday) a group from the MNLF shelled the position of our members,” Kabalu said as he confirmed reports of fatalities.
The MNLF signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996 but its members continue to bear arms.
The erstwhile rebel group said its forces in Nanga-an and Semone were merely defending themselves from MILF attacks.
Last week, seven combatants from the MILF and the MNLF were also killed in clashes over land ownership in Maguindanao. (report from Jeoffrey Maitem, Agence France-Presse/Inquirer Mindanao)
