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COTABATO CITY: A clan war or locally known as rido among two
families of a Maguindanao tribe has finally ended after both parties
signed a peace covenant in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat province recently.
The signing of the covenant concluded two years
of bloody confrontations between the two clans who were fighting for
strategic territorial jurisdiction.
The two warring clans led by Datu Randy Karon
who is identified with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF),
and Commander Jing Ca-ludtiag of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
agreed to the signing of the said peace covenant that was witnessed
by high-ranking officials from the Philippine National Police in
Central Mindanao.
The covenant binds the two warring clans not to
show force in Barangay Tran in Lebak, the site of their bloody
confrontation that drove more than 5,000 people to flee so they
could avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Just two weeks ago, the two clans clashed at the
seaside border of the towns of Lebak and Datu Blah Sinsuat in
Maguindanao province.
The rido between the Karon and Caludtiag clans
escalated three months ago when MILF rebels ambushed a group
belonging to the MNLF in Barangay Tran, killing one and wounding two
others.
The animosity started two years ago after
members of the Karon clan disarmed the men of Caludtiag who were
roaming with their high-powered guns in Barangay Tran, which is
known to be an MNLF stronghold.
The reconciliation was facilitated by
representatives of the United Nation’s Act for Peace Program;
local leaders in Lebak; and elders of the Mastura clan, the
recognized ruling Moro royal clan in Sultan Kudarat’s neighboring
Lebak, Kalamansig and Palembang towns.
-- Julmunir I. Jannaral
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