6 dead in suspected Philippine clan war: police

Sep 23, 2010 |

Zamboanga (Philippines)

Tags:

Philippines

Six members of a family were killed and two other relatives wounded in an attack linked to a suspected clan war in the southern Philippines, the police said on Thursday.

Gunmen opened fire on the victims' house on the island of Jolo on late Wednesday, said provincial police chief senior superintendent Joseph Ramac, adding: "This is a ‘rido’ (clan war)."

The police are investigating the possible involvement of a neighbour who had accused a relative of the targeted family of rape and arson. "Rido", or violent feuds among rival Muslim clans, have plagued the southern third of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines for decades, with families fighting over land, political power or matters of honour.

One study by the Asia Foundation think-tank, published in 2007, said that more than 5,500 people had died due to clan wars in the south between 1930 and 2005.

In one of the worst cases, a powerful Muslim clan is accused of massacring 57 people in Maguindanao province in November 2009 to prevent a member of a rival clan from running against them in May elections.

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