Maguindanao toll rises; residents flee | The Philippine Star News Headlines.

Source: Philstar.com
(The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines – Hundreds of residents have fled after guerillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and followers of a powerful politician figured in a running gun battle in Barangay Tenok, Maguindanao, where the casualties increased to 14 yesterday.

A 500-strong armored Army unit was deployed in the deserted village of Tenok yesterday, a day after the clash, to keep about 150 gun-wielding clan members of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu and 130 MILF fighters apart.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said initial investigation showed that the fighting was a result of rido, or a blood feud among Muslim families that can lead to so-called honor killings stretching over several generations.

“That’s the initial information that we got. It was a family feud,” Oban told Palace reporters in a chance interview at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall, where he and various other appointees took their oaths of office before President Aquino.

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