THE Maguindanao del Norte provincial government has distributed relief assistance to some 1,300 families displaced due to recent conflicts in several villages in Datu Odin Sinsuat in that province, the military said Sunday, April 7, 2024.
The Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) said Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Administrator Tomanda Antok, on behalf of Governor Abdulraof Macacua, led the distribution of food packs to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) on Saturday, April 6.
The 6ID said they received support from personnel of the 6th Civil-Military Operations Battalion, village officials, and members of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jerome Peñalosa, alongside the 6th Infantry Battalion and the 601st Infantry Brigade.
The 6ID said the relief assistance included 1,500 packs of rice and approximately 1,300 boxes of dry goods such as noodles, canned sardines, sugar, and native coffee.
The recipients of the relief aid are as follows: Kakar village, 367 households; Ambolodto, 87 households; Dados, 190 households; and, Bongued, 639 households.
The 6ID said that armed groups entered the affected villages, resulting in skirmishes on March 4 and 6, followed by intermittent firefights.
The situation escalated, prompting the Datu Odin Sinsuat to convene the Municipal Peace and Order Council Meeting on April 2.
Brigadier General Nasser Lidasan, 6ID assistant division commander and chairperson of the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), intervened by reaching out to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leadership to address the presence of armed groups as approximately 300 armed MILF members were sighted in the four affected villages.
“Swift action from local authorities and the military helped ease tensions, with armed personnel withdrawing from the area after series of a negotiations,” the 6ID said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Major General Alex Rillera, 6ID commander, said the displaced residents gradually returned to their homes with the assistance of state security forces.
Rillera said that military troops continue to monitor the four villages to ensure the safety and security of residents. (SunStar Zamboanga)