More than 1,000 people or 208 families were reportedly affected by a shooting incident in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao del Sur on Thursday, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
In an initial report, the OCD said an undetermined number of unidentified men stormed into a residential area in Barangay Datu Kilay with guns blazing, sent the villagers fleeing for their lives, looted family belongings, then took off with stolen vehicles and motorcycles.
There were no casualties, but the local residents opted to evacuate to adjacent barangays for their safety.
The siege also left damages to some houses, commercial establishments, and a barangay hall.
Shariff Saydona Mustapha was also the site of an earlier armed conflict between the Army’s 105th Base Command and Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters, resulting in the dislocation of thousands of families.
The town was named after Shariff Saydona Mustapha, an Arab missionary from Mecca and a paternal uncle of Shariff Kabungsuwan of Johore, reputedly the first Sultan of Maguindanao. He was the ancestor of the Ampatuan, Mangacop, Masukat and Sangki clans of Maguindanao.