Cotabato: About 160 families fled to safer grounds Thursday night after armed groups exchanged gunfire in Barangay Malingao, Kadayangan, in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's (BARMM) Special Geographic Area (SGA) in Cotabato province.

According to Philippines News Agency, Barangay Malingao chairperson Norodin Dilangalen said that the families, numbering over 800 individuals, evacuated around 9 p.m. as unidentified armed groups exchanged gunfire in the area. A civilian was reportedly injured by stray bullets, but police are still verifying the report.

Dilangalen mentioned that the incident occurred in the same area of Purok 4, Barangay Malingao, where four people were killed on June 2 in a gun attack linked to the illegal drug trade. He noted that the individuals involved in Thursday night's skirmishes could be the same people involved in the June 2 gun attack.

Elements of the Kadayangan Municipal Police Station and soldiers from the 33rd Infantry Battalion are now conducting clearing operations in the village. Personnel from the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD-BARMM) are attending to the immediate needs of the displaced families, distributing food packs and other non-food items.