Feb 12, 2010
DAVAO (Philippines) - ONE man was killed as two feuding Muslim clans involved in a political massacre last year that left 57 people dead clashed again, police said on Friday.
Two policemen assigned to protect one of the clan leaders, Esmael Mangudadatu, have been arrested after a follower of the rival Ampatuan family was shot dead in a shopping mall in Davao city on Thursday, they said.
Mr Mangudadatu's wife, pregnant sister and other female followers were among 57 people allegedly abducted and shot dead by the Ampatuan clan in the nearby southern province of Maguindanao in November.
Andal Ampatuan Jnr, who was Mr Mangudadatu's rival for the post of governor in national elections to be held in May, is on trial for the murders, while other clan members have also been charged.
Tamano Mamalapat, a former bodyguard of Ampatuan Jnr, was shot dead while grappling with the two Mangudadatu bodyguards at the mall, Davao city police chief Senior Superintendent Rene Aspera told reporters.
Mr Mangudadatu, who was at the mall with his two daughters, claimed the slain man had tried to assassinate him, but local authorities appeared not to back up his assertion. 'Definitely he (Mamalapat) was not carrying a gun at the time,' Davao city mayor Rodrigo Duterte told reporters. '(But) he tried to grab the gun of one of the two (Mangudadatu) police bodyguards.' -- AFP
