Over 51,000 residents still displaced in Maguindanao

MANILA, Philippines – Close to a month after the military ended the all-out offensive against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), over 51,000 evacuees have yet to return to their homes. 

A total of 10,259 families or 51,295 people are still staying in 42 evacuation centers in 9 Maguindanao towns as of Monday, April 20, according to a report from the United Nations-Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

Residents from some towns, including Mamasapano, Shariff Aguak, Guindulungan,  and Talayan, were reluctant to return due to fears of continued military presence when they hear reports of bombings in other areas, according to a report from the regional Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DSWD-ARMM).

While the all-out offensive has ended, Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr had said that the military will continue to conduct “pursuit operations” against remaining members of the BIFF, a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), who are believed to be hiding in the Liguasan marshlands and mountainous areas. 

Catapang said the military has killed a total of 139 BIFF members or more than 50% of their ranks. 

At the height of the offensive, over 120,000 residents were forced to flee their homes to seek shelter. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines launched an all-out war against the BIFF on February 25, a month after the botched policed operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that killed 67 Filipinos. 

Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, better known as Marwan, was killed in the operation but Filipino terrorist Abdul Basit Usman escaped.

Read this Rappler story to know more on how you can help internally displaced people in Mindanao. – Rappler.com