MANILA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed "deep concern" on Monday over the plight of nearly 2,000 villagers displaced by fighting in the island province of Basilan in the southern Philippines.
The ICRC said the villagers have been staying in temporary shelters for over a month after clashes broke out between government security forces and armed extremist groups in Sumisip town.
"We are deeply concerned about the effect of prolonged displacement on these families," Piotr Dregiel, head of the ICRC office in Zamboanga City, Basilan.
Unable to take care of their farms, Dregiel said these families "struggle to provide for their loved ones."
According to the Philippine Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) in Sumisip, around 200 families that fled their homes in April 2019 due to the fighting have been staying in Mangal village.
In addition, the MSWDO said almost 190 families displaced to Tumahubong village by intermittent clashes since June 2016 have not yet returned home due to the fear of being caught in the fighting.
"Though they received initial assistance from the authorities, they need further support due to their continued displacement," Dregiel said.
To address the needs of these 2,000 civilians, the ICRC said its staff delivered assistance on May 25 through the Philippine Red Cross.
Each family received 25 kg of rice, one liter of oil, one liter of soy sauce, one kg of sugar, half a kg of salt, 12 tins of sardine that would cater to a family of five for at least 15 days, the ICRC said.
"We remind all parties to the conflict about the need to protect civilians and those who are not or no longer participating in the hostilities. They must not be targeted, and their lives and dignity are to be protected at all times," Dregiel said.
Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Sulu Archipelago, just off the southern coast of the Zamboanga Peninsula.
According to the military, Basilan and the outlying islands of Sulu and Taw-Tawi are known hideouts of the Abu Sayyaf, a radical insurgent group in the Philippines that carry out kidnappings, bombings, piracy attacks, and beheadings in western Mindanao.
They usually prey on foreign tourists, businessmen and fishermen not only from the Philippines but also from Indonesia and Malaysia.
The group acquired worldwide notoriety in the early 1990s when it abducted several European and American tourists in the Philippines and Malaysia. Some of the hostages were beheaded after failing to pay the ransom.
Clashes between government security forces and Abu Sayyaf fighters break out on the island almost weekly as military and police intensify their operation to crush the group.
