1,346 families displaced as clash hits Tugunan town in BARMM-SGA

TUGUNAN, Special Geographic Area, BARMM — A dawn clash between government troops and an armed group in Tugunan town forced 1,346 families from their homes, in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Situation Report No. 01, released at 5 p.m. Saturday by the Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi), placed the displaced residents across three barangays: Manaulanan, with 789 families; Balong, with 334 families; and Macabual, with 223 families.

The clash broke out around 6:30 a.m. in Sitio Gawang, along the boundary of Barangay Manaulanan and Barangay Balong, when combined elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' 40th, 99th, and 92nd Infantry Battalions engaged an armed group reportedly belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)–Bungos Faction.

Military reports identified the targeted elements as being led by a certain Daureen Manampan, alias "Marines," and a certain Zorin.
Civilians began fleeing to designated evacuation sites around 1:10 p.m. as the fighting intensified near residential areas, with disaster responders reporting full displacement of the civilian population within the immediate conflict zone.

No civilian casualties have been reported as of 5 p.m. Saturday.

Personnel from the Tugunan Municipal Police Station and the Bangsamoro Police Regional Mobile Force Battalion, under Police Capt. Sales Zaragosa III, remained on standby and set up checkpoints along key routes to secure the area.

The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) of Tugunan, together with regional disaster responders, has begun assessing the immediate needs of displaced families.

Officials recommended the urgent distribution of food packs, drinking water, temporary shelter materials, hygiene kits, and clothing to affected residents.