COTABATO CITY- A police officer was wounded after unidentified armed men fired at a security checkpoint in Barangay Kadingilan, Nabalawag, Special Geographic Area (SGA), Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Wednesday, a police official said.
Capt. Steffi Salanguit, spokesperson for Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PROBAR), identified the wounded officer as Pat. Alfadz Umal of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 14-A.
The 33rd Infantry Battalion (33IB) reported the tension early Wednesday in Barangay Olandang, Nabalawag, following an exchange of gunfire involving armed individuals reportedly linked to the 118th Base Command and members of the 105th Base Command, both of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
READ: Hundreds flee in Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area due to gunfire
The 33IB also immediately deployed troops to intervene and maintain peace and order.
Lt. Col. Germen Legada, 33IB commander, coordinated with the MILF’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) members Ansari Manan and Abusaima to call for an immediate halt to the armed confrontation.
Salanguit said police established a checkpoint in front of the Kadingilan Barangay Hall as part of blocking and security operations, to assist motorists and evacuees and increase police visibility in the area.
At around 11:56 a.m., while police personnel were manning the checkpoint, they reportedly heard successive gunshots from an undetermined caliber of high-powered firearms.
Umal was hit in the right thigh.
Police personnel returned fire toward the suspected source of the gunfire before withdrawing to the municipal police station after the shooting temporarily subsided.
Umal was brought to a hospital in Midsayap, North Cotabato for medical treatment.
Security and checkpoint operations remain ongoing, while authorities continue to investigate the incident.
READ: PNP intensifies probe into BARMM violence, vows charges vs suspects
At least 800 families fled their homes for fear of getting caught in the crossfire, Kadingilan Punong Barangay Saiden A. Alim said./coa
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