KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Four were wounded in an encounter between elements of the Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) at 4:02 p.m. last Thursday in Cotabato province.
Wounded in the gun fight were Rapani Saban of the CVO and three rebels whose names were unknown.
Colonel Donald Gumiran, commander of 7th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, said that the CVO forces and the 105th Base Command of the MILF battled each other in the border between Barangay Langayen, Pikit, and Barangay Dungguan, Aleosan.
The two groups subsequently traded shots using long firearms for two hours.
The shooting stopped only when local officials intervened, headed by Aleosan Mayor Loreto Cabaya and Pikit Mayor Sumulong Sultan with the GPH-MILF Ceasefire Committee and members of the International Monitoring Team.
The CVO claimed that the group of Commander Kuyo and Commander Nasser of the 105th Base Command of the MILF approached their outpost and opened fire.
Meanwhile, hundreds of families evacuated for fear that they might get in the crossfire. (Edgardo Fuerzas)