Army, BIFF clash in Datu Paglas town, Maguindanao

A firefight erupted between state forces and Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the municipality of Datu Paglas in Maguindanao early Saturday morning, according to a local media report.

Brigada News FM Cotabato City reported that around 100 members of the BIFF occupied the town center of Datu Paglas as confirmed by Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division spokesperson Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar.

Baldomar said that while the police and military cordoned off Datu Paglas public market, occupied by the armed group, members of the BIFF fired at them, according to the report.

The report said that residents in the area were evacuated to ensure their safety amidst the possible encounter.

Datu Paglas Mayor Datu Abubakar Paglas, meanwhile, said that the situation is under control.

In an initial information shared to reporters, Baldomar said the incident happened at 4 a.m., Saturday, May 8.

He said the armed group belongs to the BIFF Karialan faction.

He added that at around 10:45 in the morning, government forces were able to secure the public market and clearing operations are still ongoing after four improvised explosive devices (IED) were recovered along a national highway.

“Ongoing pa rin ang ating clearing ngayon baka meron pang ibang IED na naiwan dyan sa lugar (clearing operations are ongoing to find if there other IEDs in other areas),” Baldomar said.

The BIFF armed group were driven out of the area and scattered in different directions.

Baldomar said that it is difficult to ascertain the number of BIFF members who threatened Datu Paglas public market due to varying accounts of civilians.

He also said that there was a strict instruction from higher authorities that as much as possible there should be a peaceful resolution of the threat.

However, military and BIFF forces exchanged fires when the rebel group fired at civilian commuters, forcing government troops to retaliate.

“Habang nandun pa sa area may mga civilian kasi tayo sir na naipit nung sinarado yung highway (While we are in the area, civilians got stranded when we closed the highway),” Baldomar said.

“Ito ay pinaputukan ng mga armadong grupo kaya tayo ay nag-retaliate sir para maprotektahan 'yung mga civilian na ito at evacuate natin sila sa safety (The armed group fired at them so we retaliated to protect the civilians, who were evacuated to safety),” he added.

The 6th Infantry Division spokesman said that there were no reported injuries or fatalities among government troops and civilians.

“Sa part naman ng BIFF hindi pa natin masabi (On BIFF’s side, we really can't determine). Hindi pa natin mamonitor kung ano ang naging resulta sa kanila (We can’t monitor yet the result of the encounter on their side),” Baldomar said.—LBG, GMA News