MANILA (UCAN): The Church in the southern Philippines threw open its doors to help thousands of refugees who fled clashes that erupted in Mindanao during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan.
More than 6,000 people fled their homes when armed militants launched concerted mortar attacks on army units from between May 21 and 23, According to local media reports, mortar shells began raining down on the villages of Daplawan, Elian and Kitango, in the province of Maguindanao, on May 21, killing two children.
Father Clifford Baira, director of Archdiocese of Cotabato’s Social Action Programme for Peace and Justice, said the evacuees were occupying several schools and churches in the province and receiving help from Caritas.
“We are feeding thousands of evacuees now, both Christian and Muslims … Religion is not the issue now but the safety of all Filipinos,“ Father Baira said.
He called on those behind the shelling to show mercy as everyone, regardless of their religion, was suffering from the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.
“May those responsible show some mercy. Please, we are suffering enough as a nation. Let us set violence aside,” he said.
Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon, called the attacks a heinous assault and an “inhuman act of murder in the midst of a pandemic that has caused so much suffering.”
He said Muslims did not deserve such “beastly treatment” and should have been respected as they honoured God with their most important feast.
Authorities believe the attack was launched by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a radical group fighting for an independent state of Mindanao.
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Mindanao is home to 93 per cent of the country’s Muslim population and has witnessed a decades-old insurgency waged by various groups before most agreed to a 2014 deal that paved the way for a new autonomous region.
The BIFF rejected the deal that gave the region its own democratic government headed by Muslim leaders, saying it did not go far enough. Instead, it joined forces with Jihadist group, Abu Sayyaf, and claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Maguindanao and across the island of Mindanao in recent years.
Government peace adviser, Carlito Galvez, Jr., said an investigation into the shelling is underway.
“We would like to assure our Moro brothers and sisters that we shall leave no stone unturned as we seek justice for the victims,” Galvez told reporters.
