Town officials in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur, helped broker peace between two feuding factions of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday in Barangay Kilangan.
Mayor Abdullah Mamasabulod told reporters that leaders of the rival groups, who had been locked in a long-running rido (clan feud), agreed to a ceasefire.
The local government, with support from the military and Muslim religious leaders, facilitated the peace agreement.
“They all agreed to a ceasefire effective today, Thursday, and to help affected civilians return to their respective communities,” Mamasabulod said.
The armed hostilities involved Datu Teng Matalam, former village chair of Kilangan and an MILF official, and a group led by Ustadz Norodin, also a member of the MILF.
Mamasabulod said the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion cautioned the warring MILF leaders that failure to follow the localized peace accord would result in the use of force to protect civilians.
“If they don’t cease fighting, then the military will become their enemies as it is ready to conduct an offensive against hardheaded MILF members,” he said.
The municipal social welfare office has also extended assistance to affected civilians, distributing emergency food supplies to those displaced by the conflict.
