Pagalungan: Local leaders of Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur helped end hostilities between warring Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) factions Thursday in Barangay Kilangan. In an interview with reporters, Mayor Abdullah Mamasabulod said leaders of the two MILF groups, involved in a longstanding "rido" (family feud), agreed to a ceasefire. The local government facilitated the agreement with the military and Muslim religious leaders.

According to Philippines News Agency, the armed hostilities involved Datu Teng Matalam, former village chair of Kilangan and an MILF official, and a group led by Ustadz Norodin, also part of the MILF. Mamasabulod said the Army's 40th Infantry Battalion cautioned the warring MILF leaders that failure to follow the localized peace accord would result in the use of force to protect civilians.

'If they don't cease fighting, then the military will become their enemies as it is ready to conduct offensive against hardheaded MILF members,' Mamasabulod stated. The local social welfare office has already assisted affected civilians, and emergency food supplies have been distributed.