Saturday, August 23, 2008

NDCC: Death toll in MILF attacks now 49

The death toll from the recent attacks by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao has risen to 49 as of Sunday morning, the latest report from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.

Released 6 a.m. Sunday, the NDCC report said the 49 included 38 in Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), eight in Region 11 (Davao Region), and three in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

NDCC said the attacks also displaced 48,050 families or 240,101 people.

The organization also said at least 65 were injured, while one remains missing.

It identified the missing as Ruben Lopez, 18, of Pantar in Kolambugan. The NDCC said the MILF allegedly took him hostage but his relatives later declared him as missing.

NDCC Executive Officer Glenn Rabonza said in a radio report that the government will provide P10,000 each to the 49 victims’ families.

Relief operations in the evacuation centers are being sustained by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Philippine National Red Cross, the United Nations’ World Food Programme, and local government units.

The MILF, meanwhile, asked non-government and humanitarian organizations, both local and international, to intervene and stop an "impending humanitarian disaster" in Mindanao.

Source: Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV

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