Armed clashes in
Basilan displace nearly 7,000 people
By ICRC
December 13, 2016
MANILA – Nearly 7,000
people have been displaced for more than a month following armed
clashes between government security forces and armed groups in Basilan
province, southern Philippines.
“These families left their
homes and sources of livelihood after the hostilities started in
November. The residents of six villages in the conflict-affected
municipalities of Al-Barka and Tuburan chose to stay with relatives or
in evacuation centers for fear of being caught in the crossfire. The
ICRC’s distribution is in response to their basic needs for food,”
said Nezar Tamine, deputy head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Mindanao.
To support their needs, the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provided food rations
and hygiene items on December 7 and 9 for the affected families in Al-Barka
and Tuburan, with the support of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC)
Basilan chapter.
Each family received 25
kilograms of rice, 2 litres of oil, 1 kilogram of sugar, ½ kilogram of
salt, 12 tins of sardines, 1 liter of soy sauce, and a hygiene kit
containing shampoo, bath and laundry soaps, toothbrushes and
toothpaste. In July, the ICRC through the PRC provided essential
household items and hygiene kits to 17,000 displaced people in
Tipo-Tipo, Al-Barka and Ungkaya Pukan municipalities.
Also recently, the ICRC
arranged for 12 emergency health kits to be delivered to hospitals and
rural health units in Sulu and Basilan provinces to support the
medical needs of the affected civilians. These kits also contain
dressing materials to treat the weapon-wounded.
Together with the PRC
Zamboanga City chapter, 113 health workers from six rural health units
of Basilan were trained on first aid and basic life support from
August to October to boost the capacity and readiness of health
workers and the community to help save lives during armed fighting and
other emergencies.
As part of its mandate to
raise awareness of and respect for international humanitarian law, the
ICRC continues to remind all parties to the conflict about the need to
protect civilians and those who are not or no longer participating in
the hostilities.
The ICRC is a neutral,
impartial, and independent humanitarian organization whose mandate is
to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and other
situations of violence. It has had an established presence in the
Philippines for more than 70 years and a permanent presence in
Mindanao since 1982.