By AARON RECUENCO
Two members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) died while at least four others were wounded in a clash with suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF), police said.
Chief Insp. Tara Leah Cuyco, spokesperson of the Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional police said, they received the report of the clash yesterday and that it erupted around 1 p.m. on Sunday in Barangays Andavit in Datu Salibo in Maguindanao.
Police and military forces are not allowed to enter the MILF territory due to an existing ceasefire agreement.
“But we are receiving reports and continuously monitoring the situation,” said Cuyco.
Cuyco said that based on the latest report they received, two MILF fighters identified as Mustapa Musa and Muhamad Kafil, died in the firefight.
Four others were wounded, two of them are Suranni Abelusa and Taha Sabpa. They were taken to a local government hospital for treatment.
“There are also reported casualties from the BIFF side but we are still getting information for confirmation of that report,” said Cuyco.
The BIFF, it was recalled, was established by an MILF commander based in Maguindanao and Cotabato area in protest to the peace talks between the government and the MILF in the past administration.
The group of Ameril Umbra Kato wants to seek for the total freedom of the Moros in Mindanao and to establish their own government and territory.
The BIFF has been responsible in the attacks against the government since then but was nearly wiped out after an all-out offensive a few months after the controversial Mamasapano clash wherein 44 police commandos died.
The government said it found a new life after aligning itself to the Maute Group and its foreign backer, the international terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).