43 families flee Arakan village after Army-NPA clash
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 19:22 PM Fri May 8, 2015
1,701
By:
Malu Manar and Edwin Fernandez
KIDAPAWAN CITY – About 43 families in remote villages of Arakan, North Cotabato have fled homes following
the road side bombing that left three soldiers and wounded another in the
village of Kabalantian, a village official said.
Charlie Segucal, village
chair of Kabalantian, told DXND Radyo Bida that 28 families from Purok Tikuyac
have fled Wednesday night and sought shelter at the village center.
About 15 other families from
Sitio Aguilar also abandoned their community as the military and the New
Peoples Army clashed following the ambush and roadside bombing Wednesday afternoon.
Segucal said the villagers
fear they might be caught in the cross fire should a full blown war erupts between
elements of the 57th Infantry Battalion and communist rebels.
A team of 5th IB
trooprs went to the village to verify reports that 200 NPAs from Kitaotao,
Bukidnon were massing in the hinterland village. As they enter the village, the soldiers were
ambushed, triggering an hour long battle.
Another team of soldiers
went to the village to as reinforcement but a roadside bomb stalled the vehicle,
killing three soldiers and wounded another.
Segucal was dismayed with
the incident because it affected development projects by an international
organization.
Barangay Kabalantian is a
beneficiary of a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project of ACF
International.