At least 1,500 families displaced in S. Philippines after Maguindanao clash

At least 1,500 families have been displaced in southern province of Maguindanao following the bloody clash between police force and Muslim rebels last week, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said Wednesday.

The CHR launched its own investigation into the Mamasapano, Maguindanao incident on Jan. 25.

The state agency said that the "violent incident" left 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force ( PNP-SAF), 18 combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and at least five civilians, including a five-year old girl, dead, and an undetermined number of combatants and civilians wounded.

"All of these occurred within the context of an ongoing peace process and despite the protocols that have been put in place to prevent incidents such as this," the CHR said.

The clash took place amid the peace process between the Philippine government and the MILF, the largest Muslim rebel group in the country.