(Adnkronos) – Three people were killed and 15 injured yesterday in a shooting in the Philippines, in a Muslim-majority autonomous region where the first local electoral consultation after decades of separatist violence is scheduled for today.
The vote represents the culmination of an on-again, off-again peace process, initiated in the late 1990s, which led to the creation of the autonomous region of Bangsamoro, in the southern Philippines, a predominantly Catholic archipelago.
Cotabato police chief Jibin Bongcayao stated that the shooting occurred shortly before midnight, as members of rival political factions argued over the right to vote first.
“Initially it was a dispute between two groups over their position in the queue” in front of a school used as a polling station in the regional capital, Bongcayao explained.
The argument “led to pushing that escalated into a brawl and, finally, shots were fired in a crowded area.” The police official added that the men involved in the shooting belonged to rival factions from the Philippines’ largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf), which has fought for decades for the region’s autonomy. That insurgency caused 150,000 deaths.
In this region marked by political violence and family feuds, an incident-free election would be considered a success, some party leaders recently told AFP journalists.
