Normalisation process fails to normalise Mindanao in the Philippines
Four civilians were killed, two of them women, after getting caught in the crossfire of the war between the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters-Karialan Group (BIFF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesay 28 April in the southern Philippines. These deaths are only the latest in a long string of fatalities beginning in mid-February to early March 2021, when multiple armed clashes erupted in the towns of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Salibo, Mamasapano, Shariff Aguak, and Shariff Saydona Mustapha. Authorities have counted over 66,000 individuals displaced from these recent wars. These wars have not been disrupted by the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) nor contained by the normalization agreement that formed part of the agreement’s transitional measures.
Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), urged residents and local government officials in Maguindanao on Sunday, May 9, to remain vigilant after the thwarted hostilities of the Islamic State (IS)-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) at the pu
Families in Maguindanao face instability wrought by protracted armed conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic. Article 05 February 2021 Philippines
Thousands of families in Maguindanao, Southern Philippines were forced to flee several times in 2020 because of hostilities between government forces and non-state armed groups.
This has limited their access to farmlands, fishing grounds and forests. Perennial flooding and movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened their already unstable economic situation. Over time, they learned how to cope with challenges but their lives remain fragile and unstable they remain unable to fully sustain their daily basic needs.
With support from the Philippine Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) distributed multipurpose cash grants to 3,200 families, or around 16,000 people, from the towns of Datu Salibo and Shariff Saydona. These cash grants allow the affected families flexibility to cover their immediate
Sharif Aguak, Maguindanao
(Google Maps / MANILA BULLETIN)
Lt. Col. Anhouvic Atilano, Army’s Sixth Infantry Division spokesperson, said Thursday the undermanned Army-para military patrol base in Barangay Labu-Labu was attacked at around 10 p.m. by an undetermined number of BIFF extremists.
No one from the government side was hurt in the attack, he said.
Military forces, backed by Simba tanks and artillery fire, pounded the BIFF positions within a kilometer radius from the government forces’ detachment that resulted in the withdrawal of the terrorists, Atilano said.
Army officials said it was unknown if the attackers suffered casualties, noting that soldiers from nearby detachments also fired machineguns and mortars on the BIFF positions.