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COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 19 August) – A village chairperson and his wife were brutally killed in an ambush while on their way home from an event held in their own barangay in Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao del Norte.
The fatalities identified as Esmael Latip Mustapha, chairperson of Barangay Bulibod, and his wife Rahima, the village secretary, were gunned down by at least six heavily-armed individuals past 10 p.m. on Sunday, August 18, the local police reported.
Both victims died instantly due to severe wounds from the high-powered firearms used by the assailants.
The ambush happened in a road several meters away from the house of the victims.
Their families have not issued any statement yet on the possible motive for the attack.
A report from the Council for Climate and Conflict Action Asia (CCCA) showed that a year ahead of the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections in May 2025, there was a remarkable rise in deadly violence in the area.
“The conflict-to-peace transition has not yet alleviated the fears of communities in the Bangsamoro,” according to their latest bulletin “Mounting Displacement in the Bangsamoro” released last July 11.
Security efforts are being intensified in Sultan Kudarat town for the scheduled September 7, 2024 plebiscite for Bangsamoro Parliament Bill 223, which seeks the division of the municipality into two towns.
The proposed new town is named Nuling. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
