Around 1,235 families, or some 6,000 individuals from Barangays Rangaban, Mudseng, Tugal, Tumbras, Nes and Nabalawag in Midsayap, Cotabato have abandoned their homes and temporarily took shelter in schools, houses of relatives and other structures like turugan (meeting place) as a result of fighting between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which started January 25, 2007. Many families also stayed only under the trees along the highway connecting Midsayap and Datu Piang of Maguindanao. The exact number of evacuees could not be ascertained as many were considered “mobile evacuees” who had their sleds and tractors parked under the trees along the highway that served as their temporary shelters.