MANILA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday voiced concern over the displacement of nearly 13,000 people in Lanao del Sur province on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.
In a statement, the ICRC said that continued clashes between government troops and an armed group in Butig town from late May to early June forced 12,500 people, mostly farmers, to evacuate to safer grounds.
"Thousands of civilians in Butig were forced to flee their homes in February, when the first clashes began. Some were able to return in April, and just when they started planting a new crop, they were forced to flee their homes again in May, when hostilities resumed," said Dominic Earnshaw, head of the ICRC office in Cotabato City.
"Now, many of the displaced are living with relatives and depend heavily on their kin and the authorities, as they are still too afraid to go back home," he said.
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