As part of their assistance to the war-torn region of Mindanao, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Friday that it would provide as much as five hundred thousand dollars to provide support and relief to the families affected by the fighting between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

According to Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF country representative, “It is estimated that half a million people have been affected by the latest fighting in Mindanao and we know that more than half of these will be children.”

“These children may have witnessed killing or injuring of family members or may even have been attacked themselves,” she added.

Ten children have been killed since the war erupted in August after the Supreme Court halted the signing of a territory agreement that would have expanded the existing autonomous Muslim region in the Mindanao.