ALLIANCE NEWS
March 19, 2015

DISPLACED PEOPLE IN THE CENTRAL MINDANAO CONFLICT REACHED 123, 000

Los Angeles- The Alliance Philippines raised the alarm that the humanitarian proportions has escalated into a very serious crisis in the ongoing Mindanao conflict caused by AFP military operations.

The ALLIANCE NEWS reported from Davao City that the number of people displaced by armed conflict in Maguindanao province has reached more than 123,000 as government forces continue their combat operations, records from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government showed.

According to the AFP, more than 117 BIFF fighters has been killed and at least 80 others were wounded in the fighting. On the side of the AFP, at least 6 soldiers including two officers were killed and more than 30 were wounded in the skirmishes.

According to the ARMM-Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (ARMM-Heart), the figure surpassed the 100,000 who left their communities in 2003 due to fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the provinces of Maguindanao and North Cotabato.

All-Out Offensive Continues

The latest all-out offensive declared by Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. on Feb. 25 is aimed at suppressing the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and arresting suspected Jemaah Islamiyah-linked bomber, Basit Usman.

The ARMM-Heart said operations against the BIFF, which broke away from the MILF, had forced at least 24,714 families to flee their homes in 15 towns in Maguindanao. The number accounts for about 10 percent of the province’s total population.

Close to 22,000 families are being hosted in 75 evacuation camps, while the rest are staying in the homes of relatives.

For more information please contact the Alliance at (2130241-0995 or email at [email protected]

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