He cited the case of a 15-year-old girl who was wounded by stray bullets on Wednesday morning when Army soldiers and BIFF rebels started shooting at each other. “The Army was imagining casualty figures,” Abu Misri Mama, spokesperson of the BIFF, said in the vernacular. He also denied the communities were BIFF strongholds. After clearing operations were completed on Sunday, the Army announced that local residents could return to their villages. But the displaced families refused to do so, fearing the return of the BIFF and the resumption of armed hostilities.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 18, 2016 18:11 UTC