200 families flee air strikes

KIDAPAWAN CITY – At least 200 families from two villages in Carmen, North Cotabato were forced to evacuate to safer areas with the army launching an air-to-ground military offensive against the ISIS-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on Wednesday.

Captain Napoleon Alcarioto, head of the Civil Military Opera- tions (CMO) of the Army’s 602nd Brigade, said most of the evacuees sought temporary shelter in Barangay Lawili, Aleosan.

He said the internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been given assistance by the local government units in Carmen and Aleosan.

The military offensive took place after some 30 fully-armed BIFF allegedly led by a certain Esmael Abdulmalik or Commander Abu Torayfe, were sighted in Barangay Tonganon and nearby Bentangan, also in Carmen, on Tuesday.

The Army official said they used MG520 attack helicopters for the air strikes, which was still ongoing yesterday.

“Our men recovered a number of personal belongings of these BIFF members, which led us to believe that some of them could have been hit during the military air strikes,” said Alcarioto.