(Xinhua) -- At least five Mohammedan rebels were killed, nine others maimed and hundreds of families beat feet as fierce fighting between troops led by two rebel commanders erupted Tuesday in the restive southern Philippines, a military official said.Lt. Col. Prudencio Asto, front man for the military's 6th Division, told Xinhua by phone the festivities involving Commander Abunawas of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and Commander Adzmi, of Moro Islamic Liberation Front's 106th Command erupted in remote village in the township of Datu Piang in Maguindanao province.
Asto said the fighting has something to do with long standing land conflict, a claim confirmed by the MILF's Central Committee.
"We deployed troops to the scene not to fan the ongoing fire but to pacify. We are containing the fighting within the area so it will not spread," the military official said.
Asto said as of 3:00 p.m., government agencies along with military personnel distributed relief goods to people displaced by the fighting.
Von Al Haq, front man for the 11,000 strong MILF, said the incident involved land conflict over a six-hectare agricultural land.
In Southern Philippines, clan war or "rido" is common among warring clans and sometimes the hostilities could last for decades until a peace pact is reached by protagonists, usually through mediation by religious leaders and the payment of blood money.
Among major causes rido include land disputes, particularly those caused by disputed government surveys or ancestral land claims; political rivalries, mostly election-related; crime- related, including murder and proliferation of illegal drugs, competition over resources and businesses.