Andal Ampatuan Jr, the mayor of Datu Unsayalso, who is also the son of a provincial governor on the Philippines island of Maguindanao, has been charged with multiple murders in connection with the cold-blooded massacre of 57 unarmed civilians by a large group of armed men Monday 24 November. The massacre has sent shock waves through the Philippines, with the president’s office saying she is enraged at what is a “limited clan political rivalry.” The area has been subject to violence in the past linked to Muslim secessionist groups, but President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s spokesperson says the massacre is not linked to those groups.

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