Cotabato city: At least 19 people died while five others sustained injuries after clashes erupted between two rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) groups over a land dispute in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur on Wednesday afternoon. The hostilities involved MILF commanders Alonto Sultan and Ikot Dandua, who have been contesting ownership of rice fields in Barangay Kilangan. According to Philippines News Agency, tensions escalated over about 300 hectares of land, triggering armed encounters. Vice Mayor Abdilla Mamasabulod stated, "They are fighting for ownership of vast tracts of rice fields in the village," confirming the fatalities reported by local leaders. Sultan claimed legal ownership of the land, presenting land titles to reporters in prior interviews, while Dandua maintained that his family inherited the fields from their ancestors. Regional Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Roden Orbon said that military, police, and MILF ceasefire committee members intervened to halt the violence. Soldiers from the 90th Infantry Battalion, with an armored carrier, were deployed to Kilangan as civilians evacuated the area.