CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 20 Jul) Fierce fighting between communist insurgents and government soldiers broke out in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 14 people dead on both sides, security officials said Thursday.
Officials said the clashes erupted in the village of Maniki in Kapalong town in Davao del Norte province late Wednesday afternoon after troops intercepted a band of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
“At least 10 rebels and four governments were killed in the fighting and military offensive in still going in the province,” Colonel Francisco Simbajon, spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, told the Zamboanga Journal.
Two soldiers were also wounded in the fighting, he said.
He said a senior NPA leader Verino Antolihao was killed in the fighting. “Verino was a notorious rebel leader and chief of the NPA’s Front Committee 35 of Southern Mindanao Regional Committee,” Simbajon said.
Simbajon said the rebels, numbering more than 30, were onboard two trucks and on their way to collect illegal taxation from villagers in the town.
“Villagers informed us about the presence of rebels and troops, from the 60th Infantry Battalion, caught up with them, triggering a running gun battle,” he said.
He said troops recovered assorted automatic weapons, including anti-government propaganda.
Major General Cardozo Luna, regional military commander, ordered more troops in the area to pursue the NPA forces, he said. “The general’s order is to neutralize the rebels fast and quick,” Simbajon said.
Fighting have escalated after peace talks between communist rebels and the government collapsed in 2004 after the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front pulled out from the negotiations because of its inclusion to the terror lists of the United States and the European Union on Manila's prodding.
The rebels 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 rejected the demand and suspended safety and immunity guarantee for rebel peace negotiators following the collapse of the talks.
Arroyo has ordered the new Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon to crush the NPA, the armed wing of the CPP-NDF, and she set aside one billion pesos for the military to help fight insurgency and terrorism.
Officials said the clashes erupted in the village of Maniki in Kapalong town in Davao del Norte province late Wednesday afternoon after troops intercepted a band of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
“At least 10 rebels and four governments were killed in the fighting and military offensive in still going in the province,” Colonel Francisco Simbajon, spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, told the Zamboanga Journal.
Two soldiers were also wounded in the fighting, he said.
He said a senior NPA leader Verino Antolihao was killed in the fighting. “Verino was a notorious rebel leader and chief of the NPA’s Front Committee 35 of Southern Mindanao Regional Committee,” Simbajon said.
Simbajon said the rebels, numbering more than 30, were onboard two trucks and on their way to collect illegal taxation from villagers in the town.
“Villagers informed us about the presence of rebels and troops, from the 60th Infantry Battalion, caught up with them, triggering a running gun battle,” he said.
He said troops recovered assorted automatic weapons, including anti-government propaganda.
Major General Cardozo Luna, regional military commander, ordered more troops in the area to pursue the NPA forces, he said. “The general’s order is to neutralize the rebels fast and quick,” Simbajon said.
Fighting have escalated after peace talks between communist rebels and the government collapsed in 2004 after the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front pulled out from the negotiations because of its inclusion to the terror lists of the United States and the European Union on Manila's prodding.
The rebels 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 rejected the demand and suspended safety and immunity guarantee for rebel peace negotiators following the collapse of the talks.
Arroyo has ordered the new Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon to crush the NPA, the armed wing of the CPP-NDF, and she set aside one billion pesos for the military to help fight insurgency and terrorism.
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