Girl killed by stray army bullet
Four-your-old victim was among those trying to escape insurgent fighting when she was hit
Asmayra Usman was asleep when she was hit by a stray machine-gun bullet
- Kerima Bulan T. Navales, Davao City
- Philippines
- August 23, 2012
A young girl died in an evacuation center in Maguindanao province last night after a stray machine-gun bullet fired by a soldier outside the center hit the four-year-old while she was asleep, said her father.
Asmayra Usman was hit while the soldier was chasing suspected rebels in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, said police investigators.
The bullet ricocheted off the foot of her father, Arsad Muiahed Usman, “then went directly into his daughter’s stomach and killed her,” said Bai Ali Indayla of Kawagib, a Moro human rights organization.
The incident occurred after the displaced families had just held an interfaith activity led by Kawagib and the Notre Dame Center for Catechesis.
The Usmans are among 400 families that sought temporary shelter in the center after the rebel group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters launched attacks in the province earlier this month.
Kawagib's Indayla said her organization will assist the Usman family in filing charges against the soldiers of the Army's 6th Infantry Division.
Residents, meanwhile, complained that soldiers have used a mosque as a detachment in the village of Bagan in Guindulungan town.
In the nearby village of Maitumaig in Datu Unsay town, a mosque, a health center and abandoned houses were also reportedly used by soldiers as camps which represents a violation of humanitarian law, says Indayla.
"Not only are they showing disrespect to religious places of worship, they also endanger the lives of civilians," she said.
Meanwhile, Inspector Carl Jason Baynosa of the Regional Public Safety Battalion in Kidapawan City said government troops are monitoring towns on the border of North Cotabato and Maguindanao provinces after rebels were sighted in the area.
"What we're doing right now is to secure the highway and ensure the safety of civilians," said Baynosa, adding that authorities received reports the rebels are regrouping ahead of what is expected to be renewed fighting.
The social welfare office in Pikit town, North Cotabato reported some 200 families from three villages had already fled.
An estimated 100 families from Aleosan town in North Cotabato also flocked to evacuation centers to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Related reports
Govt and MILF unite against attacks
Rebel infighting displaces hundreds
Rebel ambush kills soldiers
Asmayra Usman was hit while the soldier was chasing suspected rebels in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, said police investigators.
The bullet ricocheted off the foot of her father, Arsad Muiahed Usman, “then went directly into his daughter’s stomach and killed her,” said Bai Ali Indayla of Kawagib, a Moro human rights organization.
The incident occurred after the displaced families had just held an interfaith activity led by Kawagib and the Notre Dame Center for Catechesis.
The Usmans are among 400 families that sought temporary shelter in the center after the rebel group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters launched attacks in the province earlier this month.
Kawagib's Indayla said her organization will assist the Usman family in filing charges against the soldiers of the Army's 6th Infantry Division.
Residents, meanwhile, complained that soldiers have used a mosque as a detachment in the village of Bagan in Guindulungan town.
In the nearby village of Maitumaig in Datu Unsay town, a mosque, a health center and abandoned houses were also reportedly used by soldiers as camps which represents a violation of humanitarian law, says Indayla.
"Not only are they showing disrespect to religious places of worship, they also endanger the lives of civilians," she said.
Meanwhile, Inspector Carl Jason Baynosa of the Regional Public Safety Battalion in Kidapawan City said government troops are monitoring towns on the border of North Cotabato and Maguindanao provinces after rebels were sighted in the area.
"What we're doing right now is to secure the highway and ensure the safety of civilians," said Baynosa, adding that authorities received reports the rebels are regrouping ahead of what is expected to be renewed fighting.
The social welfare office in Pikit town, North Cotabato reported some 200 families from three villages had already fled.
An estimated 100 families from Aleosan town in North Cotabato also flocked to evacuation centers to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Related reports
Govt and MILF unite against attacks
Rebel infighting displaces hundreds
Rebel ambush kills soldiers
