AGUSAN DEL NORTE (Zamboanga Journal / 05 May) Patrolling soldiers killed at least 4 members of the communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels in a clash before sunrise Friday in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the fighting erupted around 5 a.m. in the village of Sumilihon in the outskirts of Butuan City in Agusan del Norte province. One government soldier was also wounded in the clash, said Lt. Col. Francisco Simbajon, a spokesman for the Army's 4th Infantry Division.
The soldiers were patrolling the village when they ran into the group of the insurgents and a firefight ensued, he said.
"Troops under 2nd Lt. Jonathan Escopalao, of the 30th Infantry Battalion, recovered the bodies of the slain insurgents, including three M16, an M203 and M1 automatic rifles and many anti-government propaganda," Simbajon told the Zamboanga Journal.
He said villagers were complaining that insurgents were collecting illegal taxation and that those who refused to pay up were threatened with harm.
The NPA stepped up its offensive in the countryside after peace talks with the Arroyo government collapsed in 2004 following the pullout of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front from the negotiations due to their continued inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union.
Rebel leaders demanded that President Gloria Arroyo asks the United States and the European Union to strike them off from the terror lists before they resume peace talks. Manila also suspended safety and immunity guarantee for its negotiators following the collapse of the peace talks.
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