PAGALUNGAN, Maguindanao del Sur—Hundreds have fled an interior village here since Wednesday as two armed groups clashed Wednesday afternoon over conflicting claims of land ownership.
Schoolchildren were seen running for safety on their way to their afternoon shift classes, as exchanges of gunfire were heard from all over Barangay Kilangan.
Residents said the body count rose to 21 from 19 Wednesday afternoon when armed relatives of Engineer Datu Alonto Sultan clashed with armed men under Ikot Dandua alias Commander Bawsi.
P/Capt. Datumasla Mangalangkat, Pagalungan municipal police station chief, said the initial probe pointed to an instance of land dispute as the root cause of the conflict between the two groups.
Relatives of both sides have confirmed that fatalities have reached 21 from 19—17 from the group of Sultan and two from the side of Bawsi.
Interviewed over a local radio station, Sultan said his group was escorted by military personnel to the area which he claimed to legally own with a land title.
But as the military personnel left the area, a heavy exchange of gunfire started between the two groups, according to sketchy reports quoted by authorities.
Bawsi, for his part, told reporters that his ancestors, not Sultan’s, owned the contested land.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “21 killed in clash over land ownership in Maguindanao — locals”
