Student dies, 5 hurt in crossfires between feuding Moro factions

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March 5, 2026 | 4:23pm

COTABATO CITY — A graduating female high school student was killed while five members of a family were wounded in crossfire between two heavily armed Moro groups locked in a standoff at the border of Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, and Nabalawag town in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province since Tuesday, March 3.

Officials of the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region separately told reporters on Thursday, March 5, that the fatality, Nadia Ebad Haron, was hit in the head by a stray bullet while she and her family were preparing to relocate from their home in Barangay Damatulan, Nabalawag, to an area farther from where the feuding groups were exchanging gunfire on Wednesday.

Haron died instantly from the gunshot wound she sustained in the crossfire, according to local officials in Nabalawag and Datu Piang.

Five members of a low-income Moro family, Yahya, Irene, Rowena, Ramadin and Haladin Asim, were also wounded when the rival groups clashed on Tuesday night near their home in Barangay Duaminanga, Datu Piang, not far from Barangay Damatulan in Nabalawag.

The Asims were struck by rifle bullets and fragments from 40-millimeter grenade projectiles that landed and exploded in their vicinity. Community leaders immediately brought them to a hospital for treatment.

The two rival groups, armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers, have been fighting for control of strategic areas along the boundary of Datu Piang and Nabalawag. Residents in the area, virtually helpless, are reportedly forced to pay money and provide rice to the groups on a regular basis.

Sources said the animosity between the group leaders escalated after they backed opposing candidates in the May 12, 2025, local elections.