Scores dead in clan war in S Philippines

COTABATO, Philippines, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Around 40 people have been killed in fighting involving two warring clans in the southern Philippines over the past days, an official said on Monday.

More than 2,000 families were also displaced when hostilities erupted on July 18 in the township of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao province, said Manaot Sinsuat, mayor of the town.

Sinsuat told reporters that the ongoing clan war between Randy Karon of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Jing Caludtiag of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) even spreads in the nearby town of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat province.

The Moro National Liberation Front was a former rebel group that fought for an independence state in the southern region of Mindanao. The group reached an agreement with the Philippine government and laid down its arms in 1996. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front was a disgruntled faction that split from the MNLF, which is currently the largest rebel group in the Philippines.

"Based on the information we get from the field, around 40 people have been killed," Sinsuat said.

The Philippine military has dispatched troops in the border of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces to pacify the warring clans, according to the official.