3 Red rebels killed in Mindanao clash
MANILA: Three members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in an encounter with soldiers in Misamis Oriental province in restive Mindanao even as their representatives prepared to return to the negotiating table to talk peace with the government, the military confirmed on Monday.
Lieutenant Tere Ingente, the provincial military spokesman, said members of the 4th Infantry Division were on security patrol in a mountain “barangay” (village) in the town of Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental on Sunday morning when they clashed with about 30 NPA members.
The heavy gunbattle lasted for 15 minutes when the insurgents withdrew and left behind not only their three slain comrades but also assorted weapons like AK47 and M16 Armalite rifles, according to Ingente.
Ingente added: “Outgunned and out-positioned, the rebels fled leaving behind their three slain comrades and were seen dragging along with them their still undetermined number of wounded.”
Government forces, she said, immediately launched pursuit operations and caught up with the fleeing rebels in a nearby village four hours later on Sunday, resulting in another clash but there were no casualties reported on either side.
The encounter in Misamis Oriental was the latest reported between the military and the NPAs even as government and rebel representatives prepared to resume their off-and-on peace talks.
President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte said he agreed to the resumption but insisted the government host the negotiations in the Philippines, a sharp departure from the practice of holding such talks abroad particularly in Oslo, Norway as the third party facilitator.
The NPA is the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines which has been waging a Maoist-style insurgency against the government for 50 years, considered the longest in Asia and the Pacific.
The Maoists are representated in the negotiations by their political arm, the National Democratic Front.
But even before the formal resumption, government and Maoist representatives said they have agreed in back-channel talks, on an interim ceasefire, amnesty proclamation for political prisoners as well as agreement for agrarian reform and rural development.
Source: http://gulftoday.ae/portal/41df2303-d62c-46ad-9cd5-e11a95c08c2e.aspx
Lieutenant Tere Ingente, the provincial military spokesman, said members of the 4th Infantry Division were on security patrol in a mountain “barangay” (village) in the town of Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental on Sunday morning when they clashed with about 30 NPA members.
The heavy gunbattle lasted for 15 minutes when the insurgents withdrew and left behind not only their three slain comrades but also assorted weapons like AK47 and M16 Armalite rifles, according to Ingente.
Ingente added: “Outgunned and out-positioned, the rebels fled leaving behind their three slain comrades and were seen dragging along with them their still undetermined number of wounded.”
Government forces, she said, immediately launched pursuit operations and caught up with the fleeing rebels in a nearby village four hours later on Sunday, resulting in another clash but there were no casualties reported on either side.
The encounter in Misamis Oriental was the latest reported between the military and the NPAs even as government and rebel representatives prepared to resume their off-and-on peace talks.
President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte said he agreed to the resumption but insisted the government host the negotiations in the Philippines, a sharp departure from the practice of holding such talks abroad particularly in Oslo, Norway as the third party facilitator.
The NPA is the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines which has been waging a Maoist-style insurgency against the government for 50 years, considered the longest in Asia and the Pacific.
The Maoists are representated in the negotiations by their political arm, the National Democratic Front.
But even before the formal resumption, government and Maoist representatives said they have agreed in back-channel talks, on an interim ceasefire, amnesty proclamation for political prisoners as well as agreement for agrarian reform and rural development.
Source: http://gulftoday.ae/portal/41df2303-d62c-46ad-9cd5-e11a95c08c2e.aspx
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