DAVAO CITY — The peaceful community of some of than 300 ethnic Tedurays turned hostile as armed men went into rampage hitting their homes which forced them to evacuate for theitr own safety early Sunday morning, September 25 in Maguindanao del Norte.
A Teduray told reporters they were forced to leave their homeland after an undetermined number of gunmen shot their houses with assault rifles and forced them to leave at gunpoint in an attack early Sunday.
The military’s 6th Infantry Division immediately dispatched soldiers to verify the report and secure the area.
On Monday, Brig. Gen. Allan Cruz Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, and Army Major Gen. Alex Santos Rillera, commander of the 6th Infantry Division said they have dispatched teams to investigate the incident.
The evacuess revealed the armed men were carrying M14 and M16 assault rifles suddenly arrived in their village in Sitio Tubaran in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte before dawn Sunday.
Rillera said barangay leaders in Labungan have provided Army intelligence agents with names of the men who led the attack but the identities are being verified.
Early this month, some 300 Teduray families from the two communities in South Upi in Maguindanao del Sur, also fled their homes as armed men harassed their village causing the displacement. The internally displaced families are temporarily houses in the town gymnasium.-Editha Z. Caduaya
