BUKIDNON (Mindanao Examiner / 10 Feb) – Army soldiers gunned down a member of the communist rebel group New People’s Army (NPA) in a firefight in the southern town of Lianga, the military said Saturday.
The fighting erupted after patrolling soldiers ran into a group of rebels Friday. There were no reports of government casualties and that troops were still pursuing the NPA band Saturday.
Last month, guerrillas raided a gold mining site in Mount Diwalwal in the southern Philippine town of Monkayo and destroyed a bulldozer and carted away several weapons owned by security guards.
The attack left a chilling warning that despite an all-out government offensive against the NPA, rebel forces continue its own campaign.
The military also reported that soldiers sealed off the town of Tagbina near Surigao del Sur province where it said had a senior NPA leader, Jorge Madlos, trapped.
But security forces failed to capture Madlos.
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which is fighting the past three decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.
The United States listed the CPP and NPA, including its political wing, the National Democratic Front as foreign terrorist organizations, on Manila’s prodding.
President Gloria Arroyo has vowed to destroy the NPA before her term ends in 2010. (Mindanao Examiner)
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