Army Lt. Col. Roden Auburn told AP that authorities were working with both faction leaders to identify bodies, while Vice Mayor Abdilla Mamasabulod said up to 19 people may have died in the conflict that erupted over a 2.9-square-kilometer farmland dispute between two clans.
The MILF, which signed a peace deal with the government in 2014 and joined the Bangsamoro transition authority, still maintains thousands of armed fighters despite beginning a decommissioning process in 2019.
The violence displaced about 2,000 residents in the region, where Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants continue to operate.
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