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Summary At least 14 people were killed in clash between two rebel factions in the southern Philippines.
Troops of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIIF) clashed in the town of Datu Piang in Maguindanao province, forcing around 482 families from four villages to flee their homes. Ten of the casualties were BIIF rebels while the other four victims were MILF members.Von al Haq, spokesperson of the MILFs military arm, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), said on the rebel groups website that a group led by BIIF Commander Ustadz Abunawas Ibad attacked a BIAF-MILF command on Tuesday. He added that the conflict was caused by a land dispute between Abunawas and Commander Akad Kasim of the 106th Base Command of the BIAF–MILF.This fighting was purely because of land conflict and has nothing to do with the peace process, Al Haq stressed. We are confident that the peace process will not be affected.The government, however, expressed alarm over the clash. Brigadier General Ariel Bernardo, head of a military panel engaged in talks with the MILF, said this might affect the peace talks if the fighting is not resolved immediately, according to a news website.Last week, President Benigno Aquino III and MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim held a meeting in Tokyo, Japan in an attempt to speed up the peace talks. The MILF entered into peace negotiations with the government in 1997, but despite a ceasefire agreement, the southern Philippines continues to see violence.The MILF has been fighting against the Government of the Philippines since 1977 for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
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