Philippines: Up to 1,700 families displaced in the south by fighting between rebels and armed militias
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 8 April 2011 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Philippines: Up to 1,700 families displaced in the south by fighting between rebels and armed militias, 8 April 2011, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d9f03282.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to local officials, 14 people died and up to 1,733 families in Maguindanao province were displaced on 3 April by a clash between rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and armed militias linked to an influential local family. The displaced, originating from the municipalities of Mangudadatu, Buluan and Pandag, sought refuge in up to a dozen different safer locations, sheltering mainly in public schools turned into Evacuation Centers.
An estimated 200 families received assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development which provided them with food as well as used clothes. A military spokesman said that the intervention of the security forces prevented fighting from escalating further and aimed primarily at securing the protection and return of IDPs to their homes.
The military presented the dispute as a case of "rido", or clan feud, triggered by a road construction. The MILF, for its part, argued that they intervened to protect Moro communities from a "development aggression". They accused the Mangudadatu family of planning to convert land in the area into palm oil plantations, which would result in the eviction of local communities from their land.
