As offensive vs BIFF ends, evacuees total 91,600

MANILA, Philippines – More than 90,000 residents remain displaced from their homes as the military announced an end to the all-out offensive against breakaway rebel group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters Monday, March 30.  

As of March 28, a total of 17, 956 families or 91,602 people are still living in 79 evacuation centers in 13 municipalities in Maguindanao after being forced to leave their homes due to the war, the Automous Region in Muslim Mindanao Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (ARMM-HEART) reported Monday. 

The number decreased by about 2,000 families or 10,000 individuals from the last report of 20,030 families or 102,005 people as of March 26. Up to 25,000 families or 124,000 individuals were displaced at the height of the conflict. 

Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr on Monday announced the military is ending the all-out war against the BIFF, launched weeks after the Mamasapano clash that killed 67 Filipinos. 

Catapang, however, said the military will continue to deploy forces “to secure communities and deny the BIFF entry into their former enclaves in Maguindanao.” 

On March 13, the ARMM launched a donation drive for displaced residents to bolster relief efforts. The regional government said it was spending at least P2 million a day for food packs. 

On March 28, the Department of Health in ARMM reported that a 4-year old evacuee named Tala Alim died due to diarrhea and malnutrition. She was from Libutan, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

– Rappler.com